Ebb and Flow

First off the B&W and high key treatment are good for this. The subject of the birds and the shrub make this a very busy comp so miminalizing it by going that route is a good choice. I like the slow shutter to capture movement of the birds taking flight in an instant. Overall I like it.

I am not an expert, but I really like this.. I am drawn between the lights and the darks, the out of focus flock and the sharp twigs/bushes..first black and white I have seen on this site.. I was wondering how much that medium is used here?

I have a mixed reaction to it. First, it's very busy. No real focus. That being said, the slow shutter speed definitely gives a sense of motion to the image and I like the B&W treatment. The shrubs are all leaning to the left and that's how the birds are moving and you've left some open space (meaning no shrubs to the left) that the birds are moving into. Interestingly, the grasses at the bottom have a tilt the other way. Not sure if you intended all that but it is an interesting composition in which I find more "things" the longeer I look at it. Which I guess says that's a successful image. When I first openned it, I quickly moved on to the next image, but something brought me back for a longer look. Hope this long response is of some value to you in helping you determine if what you intended connected with others.

Morkel- I find that B&W seldom works well for avian images, here however I think it works exceptionally well. The static birds in the foreground are well detailed, and the background subjects show the dynamic action that is occurring as these birds go about their business. An intriguing image well seen and captured.

I really like the motion conveyed by the slow shutter speed, Morkel. However, I think it would be more effective if the foreground element ( the shrub) was less busy. I feel it would be a simpler composition and give more emphasis to the motion of the birds.

This works for me because of the sharpness and clarity of the shrub/vegetation and the blurry motion of the birds and because of the composition. The longer I look at it the more it draws me in, actually right into and through the shrub to the other side where the birds are.

Works for me.

Thanks for the honest feedback, folks...

Morkel, I've held off on commenting on this for a while and have come back to look several times. it's definitely an image that draws me in, but I'm still not sure what my final take on the image is. I like the black and white treatment, and I also like the sense of motion. the relatively low overall contrast works well for me. I think if I'm bothered by anything, perhaps there is just too much in-focus tree and grass which draws my eye away from the motion which for me is the overall idea of the photo. I'd consider playing with some different compositions that remove some from the right and bottom and see what that looked like. (as a suggestion in this regard, perhaps removing the right-most major branch and some of the grass.)

Morkel, when I saw the thumb, I felt I had to open this, because this shot creates mood and emotion. For me the mood is rushed, hurry, chaos and a bit of anxiety. I don't care about all the busy stuff, because that is part of what makes the mood and makes it art. I think B&W was a great idea for this and I think a lot of people may not like it because it isn't "standard" avian. Tell me if I am wrong, but for me, this is meant to be an abstract image. If so, you completely meet expectations and beyond with this one. So I like it a lot.

Thank you Brian and Kurt for your thoughtful comments
I haven't revisited these files yet and I may have one with a tighter crop or at least with less of the bush included...will have a look!

I love it and think you captured just what u set out to capture. I had a similar experiance with tree swallows. It was an ammazing berry raid. I also like the b&w and your choice of composition