Does this work?

Hi everyone,

Thank you to those who took the time to comment on my previous post.

With school being on half-term break, and a couple of exams out of the way, I've been getting out as much as possible and making the most of my time off, and the weather!

I took this shot at Bempton a couple of weeks ago; the light was harsh, so I was just trying to experiment with exposure, to try and manage the whites; I think the foliage around the Kittiwake, almost acts as a 'natural vignette' (with it being fairly dark in comparison to the bird)? What do you think?

EXIF:
Canon EOS 7D
Canon 500mm f/4.0L (borrowed!)
1/640 ISO 200 @ f/8.0

Any comments greatly appreciated,

Craig

I like this very much. Composition, lighting and overall atmosphere. I would if it were my image, crop the little rock out as its a wee bit distracting. I love the way the bird 'grows' out of the darker areas. Whites look pretty well held in check to m eyes. Very nice intimate portrait.

Hi Craig

As you say the light can be harsh there and I think based on this 'compressed web file' you are probably on the border regarding the whites, but it does help spotlight the eye & beak well. I might be tempted to slightly crop a fraction off the top & if possible add a fraction more to the bottom as it's slightly too tight for the feet. Regarding the rock, well either crop out and extend the lhs if you still have image, or just 'clone' out, however for me it's the 'khaki' green shape on the lhs that I find distraction.

TFS
Steve

I like this a lot, Different from the normal Gull image, Whites looks good on my laptop, I may selectively lighten the eye a little and clone the rock but apart from that well done its a very nice image

Dave

The "spotlighting" effect that you've captured gives the image a lot of impact. The whites look fine on my monitor. Nice work.

Hi Craig,

Different shot to the normal Kittiwake image, and it works for me, so well done !!!

Not sure if you can visit Bempton on a regular basis, but I was there about 3 weeks ago, if you walk down the path from the visitor centre and turn left along the cliff top path, just after the first "viewing island" where the fence is right on the edge of the cliff, if you keep a look out, there were puffins coming in there, offering good oppurtunities to get shots.

Regards

Rob

I like that one a lot Craig. Definitely works for me.
eric

Lovely shot! Like the DOF a lot and cropping out the rock would be the thing to do.

greetings,

Jeroen Stel

This works for me too. Like everyone else I'd like the rock gone, but would also like the bottom centre to be mushy too.


Calum

Works for me too Craig, though I too would clone the rock.

The vignetting effect of the vegetation really goes a long way to emphasising the bird.

I might try cropping a bit off the right and adding more canvass on the left just to put the bird on a good RoT comp.

Nice thinking....

It works for me. I like the rock on the right but think there is too much of the OOF vegetation on the left.

Nice shot. Agree with comments above. Would be interested in seeing this sort of shot in B&W...

Ian

Hello everyone,

Wow, thank you for such a brilliant, constructive response; I would love to post my re-edit but I'm not sure how!

Rob, thank you for the info on the Puffins, I will be returning to Bempton soon (it's only just over an hour away from where I live).

Thanks again everyone,

Craig

Slice off right , touch of extra left puts this into fist class .Lovely thought out image .

It's all splitting hairs this, I like it for what it is - a lovely portrait and a clever use of light.

Rgds,

Des

Very well crafted - wouldn't change a thing. The rock gives a sense of place.

I like this a lot. I wouldn't change a thing either. Very well done.