Red-bellied Turtle Sunning

Gallery: WildlifePosted February 20, 2011186 views8 comments

Canon EOS REBEL T2i
EF-S55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
2/19/2011 – 3:48:10 PM
1/2000 sec
Manual
f/6.3
ISO 400
Focal length 250 mm
Handheld
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, DeLeon Springs, Florida
Raw file processed in PSE9

I really liked this turtle's relaxed position and the visibility of his claws, and also the colors and light. I felt that a tighter crop wouldn't give the turtle enough room. Feedback on that and anything else would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on February 20, 2011 at 8:17 PM

Hi Barbara,
I think you could crop just a bit more off of the left side, without taking anything away from the image. Nice and sharp, good exposure. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on February 21, 2011 at 12:40 AM

What a nice day for hanging out. I agree about the colors and light. I also agree with John, that cropping from the left would move the turtle away from the center and probably improve the image.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Peter May on February 21, 2011 at 10:53 AM

Woodruff this winter is a great place to photograph basking turtles, such as this red-bellied turtle, because of the prescribed burns that have reduced the vegetation along the canal to stubs. I've been shooting a ton of shots of both these and peninsula cooters. I might lighten this shot up a bit, but overall it's very well done.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 7 Posts, 239 Comments

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on February 21, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Thank you for that corrected name, Peter!

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Brad Hill on February 21, 2011 at 11:16 AM

HI Barbara,

There's nice colour and contrast in this image and I agree that the turtle is giving you an interesting pose. While I generally like the composition, I find the turtle just a little too centred - if you have more room on the right I'd suggest shifting the composition just slightly (showing a little more on the right and a little less on the left). If you don't have extra room, then I'd probably argue for cropping off a thin slice on the left side of the frame. The image MIGHT be a tad dark, but I do like the dark water - so if it were mine I'd experiment with just slightly brightening up the top of the image (everything above the water). But only a small amount - like maybe 1/3 of a stop...

Cheers...thanks for sharing this...

Brad

Registered on May 29, 2007, 431 Posts, 6061 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on February 21, 2011 at 4:34 PM

It's very difficult to get a photograph of a turtle that doesn't render the shell too light or too dark... I get quite frustrated photographing them because of this reason. You have handled this perfectly though with the perfect exposure on this little guy (the green stuff on the shell did aid a bit). Congrats

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on February 22, 2011 at 5:46 PM

Nice job, Barbara. I agree with Brad about a thin crop on the left...how about so that angled reflection in the lower left would go out the corner?

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on February 27, 2011 at 9:35 AM

Hi Barbara, i find it little too dark and i would prefer if it was less centered. cropping from the left or adding from the right might help.

cheers, Luca

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments