Stranded

Gallery: Man & FaunaPosted January 16, 2009813 views3 comments

Stranded
While kayaking in a local man made pond with a dam in DE. Came upon this Red Bellied Cooter hung up on this stump with oil soaked tree stumps and roots below.
There are quite a few of these ponds with dams here. And, this past Spring and Summer were very dry. The water level gets so low, the water doesn’t run over the dam and the oil from outboards lays on top of the water. I don’t mind having to wash the oil off my kayak each time I go there, but I got the feeling this Cooter didn’t know if it wanted to jump back in or just hang out.

All Comments and Critiques are welcome and appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Ken Arni
Fenwick Isle, DE

Comments

3 comments

Comment posted by Hank Pennington on January 16, 2009 at 12:26 PM

The hind legs hanging down like that really does say "stranded" to me Ken. I don't pick up the oil in the shot, though especially on the "blue" wood in the LRC, it might be able to increase the impression with some selective color processing. This photo is enough different and graphically dymanic that it should garner second looks from your viewers whether the oil is blatent, and that creates a good opportunity for text. If the oil was really visible, this could be used in a poster with a large title like "Let me out of here!" to emphasise the problem along with the turtle's plight.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 226 Posts, 1532 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on January 25, 2009 at 1:04 AM

I agree with Hank. It's a good shot, but the message doesnt jump out since the oil isnt easily distinguished.

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by Lindsay Lough on January 30, 2009 at 3:57 PM

Looks great - very strong impression of being stranded with no where to go, yet the turtle is still striving to free itself with its up turned nose. I agree that the oil could definitely be emphasized more with some selective color processing, or else the curves function on CS3. Overall, nice shot!

Registered on January 28, 2009, 36 Posts, 105 Comments