River Cruiser

Very nice, abstract design, gives one a vantage point they we would otherwise not see. Very interesting image. 

Eye-catching image. Congratulations on your rapid response time.

Nice picture Ingrid! Great color. I might suggest cropping in a little bit more on the bird. It's lost a bit in the background. Keep up the good work

Nice and graphic image ! Love the colors and the patterns in the river. Air-balloon style ... Cheers, Hans

An interesting look at the stork over a very diffusely patterned landscape.  Easy to get lost in the image.  Based on the position of the shadows it appears to have been taken at midday.  That said, I think it could use a decrease in saturation and some decentering.  I actually find some of the diffuse areas a little distracting compared to the sharply patterned areas which affect my ability to focus on the stork..

This is one of those difficult to make images where the braided stream and the Stork are both subject matter. I think the unique view has helped this image. I like David's suggestion, but another should add focus as well, by a simple layers adjustment—darkening the midtones by about 10% seems to distribute the subject load a little more appropriately.

Thanks so much all for your comments!

@Ry: to me the background with its lines and structures is as important (if not more important) here as the bird, hence the choice to give it ample space.

@David: I'll be interested to hear if anybody else thinks the image is oversaturated as it looks quite natural to me. I appreciate your comment re. the OOF areas. I guess it's a matter of taste. I personally sometimes deliberately try to find foliage to shoot through to create those extra soft spots... I'm a bit stubborn that way . Anyway, as it happens, here it wasn't deliberate, I simply didn't have a choice 

@Phil: I'm a bit of a Photoshop nitwit, I'm afraid, and don't work on my photos elaborately. I'd be interested to see what you did with the layers and if it's the same as putting the darks in Lightroom at -10. So maybe you can post it we can have a look? I've attached my Lightroom version here. I think it then looks too saturated somehow. 

Thanks all again! Much appreciated!


 

The river in the bg and the oof foliage in the foreground make an interesting birdscape oout of this, Ingrid.  Nicely seen.

I really love the patterns in the landscape Ingrid! Well seen and executed perfectly! I like it as posted myself. I am usually not a fan of shots in this more contrasty light, but the shadow of the bird actually adds a lot to this and makes it even more interesting. Nice work.