Mute Swan w/ chicks


Posted by Mpresti on Sun Aug 24, 2003 10:34 pm

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Hi to everyone!

Coming from Europe I'm new to this huge amount of top-class photographers sharing their know-how! :shock: That's great!

Congratulations to the editors 8) for setting up such a wonderful place and to the contributors for showing so outstanding pictures.

I read some comments before about technical specs of photos. I agree: they should be always posted w/ the picture.

One more thing I really appreciated in some posts: telling very frankly what was done in Photoshop.

Thanks for comments/critiques

EOS10D, 70-210IS+1.4x, ISO 200. PS: USM, levels, sat.
manuel
[url]http://www.wildlifephoto-presti.com[/url]

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by matt kuchta on Sun Aug 24, 2003 10:38 pm
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My only nit is the rough water at the top. If there's enough room, you might try a pano crop - the line of the birds and wake suggest a long linear photo. The water on the bottom have is truly gorgeous and nice color, too.
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by KK Hui on Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:30 pm
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Way cool! Very well captured, Manuel! :D
Yes, the rough water at the top half is a little spoil. Other than that I like it ...
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by Mike Wilson on Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:36 pm
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I agree a small amount of crop at the top would strengthen this one. The swan group is simply outstanding. I would love to see a tighter crop to see more detail in the adult's head with the reflection and the little ones a bit better. Light and exposure handled well.
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by E.J. Peiker on Sun Aug 24, 2003 11:41 pm
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I like this a lot. I think composing it with the birds slightly to the right in the frame would make it even better.
 

by Sandy Mossberg on Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:30 am
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Manuel, I echo EJ's suggestion. I'd also clone out the pale spot next to the reflected head.

Overall, a very nice shot.
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by AlexC on Mon Aug 25, 2003 8:32 am
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Wonderful light and wonderful birds, you already heard some good suggestions!!, Congrats!! 8)
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by Mpresti on Mon Aug 25, 2003 12:09 pm
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Thanks to everyone for looking and commenting! :D

I agree on cropping and on composing the birds a bit more on the right. In the 1st place I thought that also the wake is important to the picture showing the bird's movement.

As for the white spot: Sandy, you're certainly right: it would look much better and maybe I'll do it. Thanks for the suggestion.
The only "internal fight" I'm still having w/ digital photography: where is the border between image enhancing (contrast, saturation,...) and changing the way the situation really was in nature at the time of the capture? The spot is a floating feather.
manuel
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by Juli Wilcox on Mon Aug 25, 2003 7:34 pm
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Hi Manuel and welcome. This is a lovely first post. I like the rich colors and warm swans. I feel a crop off the top would simplify the image and create a more pleasing image. As far as how far to go---artists and craftspeople must decide that for themselves as they express their own vision. When creating art, you have no obligation to anyone except to yourself to express your own vision. Beyond cropping, contrast adjustment, color correcting (list not exhaustive), if you add or remove elements to the photo, then we would like to have you tell us in the post.

As far as showing what was really the situation, who is to say what is real and what is illusion? I will . . . it's all illusion. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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by Anthony Medici on Mon Aug 25, 2003 7:44 pm
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I love the interaction here and the smoothness of the front water.
I'd rotate the image between 5 and 10 degrees clockwise and crop to a 5:2 ratio and see what you get. If you still end up with any of the darker areas above the birds (but not behind the birds), I'd be tempted to clone them out along with the white spot up front. It might also be interesting to flip the image so that they are moving in the other direction.

Overall, the image has too much good interaction to try and not get it to display better. :wink:
Tony
 

by Greg Downing on Tue Aug 26, 2003 1:33 pm
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I agree with the suggestions on composition. I would not rotate the image, as Tony suggests. The best way to tell if an image is level is to draw a plumb line through the reflection and see if the reflection lines up. Here it does almost perfectly, so the shot is dead level. Great light and a little cropping would make this one perfect!
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by Jim Urbach on Tue Aug 26, 2003 5:37 pm
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Manuel, Excellent capture of the swan and youngsters and their reflections. I'd go one step beyond all the other suggestions if I were printing this. I'd clone out the seaweed on the swan.

Jim
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