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01/28/2009 09:26:45 AM |
====Critique Club====
The first thing that strikes me about this image is the clarity of the gull- and especially the eye. You did a phenomenal job of stopping the motion. This is a bit of a two edged sword, however. On the one hand, you have awesome clarity, to the extent that you can see the bird's pupil clearly, as well as individual feathers. On the other, it makes the flight of the bird (which I think is a focal point) seem very static. Perhaps part of this effect is because the empty space was placed where the bird has already been, as several commenters noted, but it could also be due to the nature of the background. Although it isn't cluttered and therefore doesn't interfere directly with the foreground, it also doesn't add to the subject. Another approach to this shot that you could have tried is a motion pan- this technique does require practice but would be well suited to this. Having a slightly more active background, combined with a pan, would blur the background but also bring out the motion of the bird. This would add difficulty, but also improve the aesthetics of your shot. As it is, although the ocean backdrop is a nice, soothing scene, it gives no idea of the spatial relationship of the gull, becoming very similar to a blank blue sky.
The colors are very nice and saturated, and the exposure is very good, capturing the lights and darks of the gull (which can be pretty tricky to do). A little bit of additional contrast on the gull might have made it pop from the background a bit more, but I think a different background would have been more beneficial overall.
Keep in mind that a lot of times, for a wildlife shot to score well on DPC, the technicals have to be perfect, and in addition you need either an exotic creature or an exemplary capture of dramatic behavior or setting. Getting these all at the same time makes it 100% a game of timing. I think a lot of voters may have seen this just as a photo of an everyday gull, and voted it down because it wasn't terribly catchy in that sense.
All in all, great job and just keep plugging away until you get that perfect behavior with the perfect background with the perfect focus. Sounds easy, doesn't it? ;) |
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 Photographer found comment helpful. |
Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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01/22/2009 09:53:32 AM |
| that's a brilliant shot!.....good job!....i love it! |
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01/19/2009 09:31:32 AM |
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01/18/2009 03:33:09 PM |
| i like the sweep of the wings - but the composition with the bird heading off image makes it seem like it is going to run into a wall |
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01/18/2009 01:09:09 PM |
Nice capture and wing position.
Traditionally on a BIF (Bird in Flight) shot you would try to position the bird on the other side of the frame so he has some room to fly into, and like any portrait it is good to have them approaching rather than leaving so the viewer can have some eye contact. |
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01/17/2009 03:31:39 AM |
| sharp...but a little bland |
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01/17/2009 03:15:12 AM |
| Nicely captured......terrific detail of the gull. 7 |
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01/16/2009 09:11:55 PM |
| Normally I like the birds in the flight shots to be flying into the frame. However this one works well I think. The line of the bird and the downward flap of the wings definitely give a sense of motion and the lines of the bird make your eye look to see where he came from rather than where he is going to. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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01/16/2009 01:36:35 PM |
| good shot...technically I like the wings up...a very hard shot to get...these creatures just don't understand "posing". |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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