Gallery: AvianPosted May 9, 2010103 views8 comments
Black Capped Chickadee perched on branch waiting for its turn at the seed pile. Capturing the second bird behind was a total fluke but I'll take the credit anyway
Canon 1DMKII
Canon 100-400
Canon 550EX
Comments
8 comments
Comment posted by Richard Peters on May 9, 2010 at 4:17 PM
Way too much contrast here for me with not much detail in the whites or blacks ni the head. The oof second bird is a distraction for me also. Sorry
Registered on December 22, 2005, 28 Posts, 126 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on May 9, 2010 at 4:27 PM
I don't agree with Richard. I interpreted the high contrast as a wanted effect. This is not probably a "classic" avian shot. And I find it quite interesting. The second bird is a plus IMHO.
D&L
Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments
Comment posted by David Chauvin on May 9, 2010 at 7:18 PM
I think this image has some great elements but I can't help but see it as two separate entities. I really like the right side and I believe it's the size of the out of focus bird that is throwing me off by drawing too much attention. Maybe because it's flying out of the edge of the frame? I just can't wrap my head around this, but I'm sure others will like it just fine as it's presented.
Registered on August 5, 2004, 1007 Posts, 5595 Comments
Comment posted by Michael Twaddell on May 9, 2010 at 7:44 PM
Interesting. It would make a cool greeting card.
Registered on August 16, 2007, 199 Posts, 2132 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on May 9, 2010 at 10:28 PM
Very different and I like it! This also would have worked well in last week's Weekly Challenge. I would try to bring out the white sidelines of the non-flight chickadee if you can. Sharon
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Gulash on May 10, 2010 at 1:12 AM
A polarizing photo it seems. I like the Chicadee on that diagonal twig with those large buds, very nice. Hi key for sure, and that's ok with me. However, no question, I would eliminate the oof bird on the left side and just go with a vertical on the main subject.
Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Horsley on May 10, 2010 at 8:19 PM
Hi all,
Thanks for the comments. The high key effect is due to the fact that the background is snow (I think it was about -20 C when I took this?). I have other shots with just a bird on the twig but that looks too 'stale' to me, a bit ordinary, I feel the second bird ads some depth to the image. I agree I could pull back the highlights on the in focus bird, its a juggling act, I wanted it to be high key, high contrast but still try and retain detail in the shadows and highlights.Anyway thanks again for the comments.
Paul
Registered on May 9, 2010, 5 Posts, 10 Comments
Comment posted by Mia McPherson on May 11, 2010 at 8:30 PM
Paul,
I like the high key effect. It may well be there but it is difficult to see the detail in the chickadee at only 615 pixels on the long side. A little less high key and there would be more definition between the whites of the bird's neck and belly which I would find more visually exciting. The OOF bird in the background does detract from the image imo, though it took me a second to figure out what it was.
Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments
Comments
8 commentsD&L
Thanks for the comments. The high key effect is due to the fact that the background is snow (I think it was about -20 C when I took this?). I have other shots with just a bird on the twig but that looks too 'stale' to me, a bit ordinary, I feel the second bird ads some depth to the image. I agree I could pull back the highlights on the in focus bird, its a juggling act, I wanted it to be high key, high contrast but still try and retain detail in the shadows and highlights.Anyway thanks again for the comments.
Paul
I like the high key effect. It may well be there but it is difficult to see the detail in the chickadee at only 615 pixels on the long side. A little less high key and there would be more definition between the whites of the bird's neck and belly which I would find more visually exciting. The OOF bird in the background does detract from the image imo, though it took me a second to figure out what it was.