Weird lighting, I know... It may look fake because the cock was lit with flash... It was almost night and the flash was the only way to take it...
I don't expect more than 5.5 on this one, but I'm out from challenges for a long time and I wanted to participate on the last challenge with my FZ50. I'll be replacing it with a Canon 450D or similar soon.
Processing is a little bit different for three areas, the cock, the background and the eyes. Nothing special though.
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On the shots that you highlighted in the thread about previously "snapshots" that won ribbons, those shots were taken around 2003 and early 2005. The details and lighting were not as flat in those images and the eagle had some attitude and the other bird was just plain unusual looking.
If you notice the recent high scoring bird shots including the current Red ribbon winner in the FS, there are no longer 'snaps' but actual portraits. The are composed wonderfully, with rich tones and fantastic lighting. The shots that score well with this type of image, especially birds, are those that display some character. A sideways shot of a chicken is just that, but a shot of an eagle open beaked and screaming at us will get our attention.
If you want to compare a similar bird to your shot of the chicken, I would recommend the excellent photo that noraneko took here:
The bokeh is butter smooth and rich, the details in the chicken make you feel you can reach out and touch the animal, and the composition with the lovely lines and curves drives our eyes around the scene.
I agree with everything Tez said, I'll add that the composition leaves a lot to be desired... The head is centered, which is usually ensures boring-ness unless it is creatively/effectively used... There is too much negative space- bokeh is nice but there is too much of it, and the neck is cropped strangely. You really have to be aware of everything that you put into the frame, and only keep things that ADD to the image. Lastly, the lighting is flat.
In sum, this photograph is nothing more than a 'snapshot' - all you seemed to have done (from a viewer's perspective) was point a camera at a chicken and take a shot, which just wont cut it when photographing wildlife.
I would recommend looking at the wildlife challenges or in the nature galleries to see what makes for interesting animal shots. Some recurring themes you'll see in the best ones are CLOSE-UP shots, very shallow DoF, interesting lighting, unique poses/compositions, and exceptionally sharp quality.
well, if it's meant to be in French it should be 'Le Coq'.
Basically this image does zero for me. Its like a snapshot rather than an artistic creation. If the bird was doing something more then standing there then maybe it would hold my attention for more than 5 seconds- 1 second to realise its a bird and 4 seconds to look to see if it is just a picture of a chicken or if there's something i'm missing because I presumed there would be something very interesting about this chicken that warranted its picture being taken and its entry into a challenge.
Your camera did a nice job of exposing correctly though and the bokeh is kinda nice but as to how many of these are the result of the camera or the person holding the camera is subject to interpretation.
In summary- its a snapshot of a chicken that I think anyone could have taken.
Then again, I'm not sure how you can really improve on it- perhaps by showing more of the bird doing whatever it's doing, or waiting for it to do somehting interesting because in all honesty, this could have been taken in a museum.
A solid image that is crisp, sharp and properly framed and composed - a technical success in every way. From an artistic standpoint, it has significant impact being richly colored with excellant detail. This image would have worked as a black and white as well. A perfect demonstration of the power of properly controlled light and focus. A top ten image and a very strong contender for a ribbon. Well done.
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