Posted by Alan Bryant on June 14, 2006 at 11:12 AM
I was down at the farm(which is just up the road from where i live).And had a enjoyable evening watching the Sparrows having a play about with eachother
This was one of them that was in the chase, that stopped and enjoyed the setting sun.
Not the usual setting for a bird shot(i.e no branches), but its abit different.
Hi Alan,
That is indeed an unusual setting and altough it isn't a natural setting it works fine IMO as you'd expect to find these birds around man-made structures.
The warm coloured background is very attractive and the multi coloured coorrugated iron is certainly different and more attractive than just the plain grey variety.
The combination of brown tones throughout the image are also very nice.
A couple of suggestions for improvement are that the bird (particularly around the eye area) doesn't look critically sharp,if the original is tack-sharp it's just a case of applying a little more USM.
Secondly,I'm not sure if the size of the bird in the frame works for me or not,I generally prefer to see the bird quite a bit larger,as in a nice frame-filling (almost) portrait or completely the opposite,showing the bird a lot smaller with plenty of habitat showing.
This one appears somewhere in the middle of the above,so I'm not quite sure if it works for me.
This isn't really a critisism of your image but more just a personal preference though.
PS. Did you see the additional comments added to your previous posting.They may hopefully be of use and answer your question about lack of comments.
Look forward to more.
Posted by Alan Bryant on June 14, 2006 at 12:54 PM
Thanks for the reply Justin.
Attouch more USM can be added(i'll see what it looks like after, but sometimes it could look to much).
As for the size of the Sparrow, this one is a young one so it could be that .I'll also see what it looks like croped in more.Everyone has there own opinion on how they would like to see a photograph, which i like because it adds things into the shot that i did not notice.And its great to keep learning
Yes i did read all the comments in my previous post, and i thank you and the people who were kind enough to write about the comments i was after .I understand it all now
Hi Alan
The first thing that strikes me when looking at the image is that the head area looks a little soft as if the birds head moved slightly during exposure,The perch doesnt bother me as the colours compliment both the very nice background and the bird,compositionally it doesnt work for me,i think the bird maybe too central in the height of the frame and may look better alittle lower or by cropping a bit of the metal work off the bottom-look forward to more
I just changed the composition, having the bird more left and lower in the shot, with cropping of some of the bottum(as you sugested Dave).And gave it attouch of USM.
Agree with the previous comments, certainly looks to be a youngster, even though they are not as common these days they are still often overlooked. I think a portrait crop would work well here....
A little hint after you have applied USM for the web use the history brush to remove the effect from areas that don't need it like the bg...
ps. I have left a comment for you on your Hawker.....
All the best
Posted by Rene de Heer on June 15, 2006 at 7:32 AM
I agree with Justin. Its not entirely sharp and the perch is overpowering. Next time i would try to have the bird a bit larger in the frame...I likke the soft background colors.
Rene de Heer
Discussion
6 repliesThis was one of them that was in the chase, that stopped and enjoyed the setting sun.
Not the usual setting for a bird shot(i.e no branches), but its abit different.
Comments and Critics are welcome
20D
500 f4 L
That is indeed an unusual setting and altough it isn't a natural setting it works fine IMO as you'd expect to find these birds around man-made structures.
The warm coloured background is very attractive and the multi coloured coorrugated iron is certainly different and more attractive than just the plain grey variety.
The combination of brown tones throughout the image are also very nice.
A couple of suggestions for improvement are that the bird (particularly around the eye area) doesn't look critically sharp,if the original is tack-sharp it's just a case of applying a little more USM.
Secondly,I'm not sure if the size of the bird in the frame works for me or not,I generally prefer to see the bird quite a bit larger,as in a nice frame-filling (almost) portrait or completely the opposite,showing the bird a lot smaller with plenty of habitat showing.
This one appears somewhere in the middle of the above,so I'm not quite sure if it works for me.
This isn't really a critisism of your image but more just a personal preference though.
PS. Did you see the additional comments added to your previous posting.They may hopefully be of use and answer your question about lack of comments.
Look forward to more.
Attouch more USM can be added(i'll see what it looks like after, but sometimes it could look to much).
As for the size of the Sparrow, this one is a young one so it could be that
Yes i did read all the comments in my previous post, and i thank you and the people who were kind enough to write about the comments i was after
The first thing that strikes me when looking at the image is that the head area looks a little soft as if the birds head moved slightly during exposure,The perch doesnt bother me as the colours compliment both the very nice background and the bird,compositionally it doesnt work for me,i think the bird maybe too central in the height of the frame and may look better alittle lower or by cropping a bit of the metal work off the bottom-look forward to more
Looks even better now, thank you
A little hint after you have applied USM for the web use the history brush to remove the effect from areas that don't need it like the bg...
ps. I have left a comment for you on your Hawker.....
All the best
Rene de Heer