Today's Preferred Gift
by Louisa

Comment:
nice macro

"TIP" ill be happy
by jonnienye

Comment:
sorry, don't understand the title, concept ambiguous, most of pic oof.

Alone in the meadow
by Quigley

Comment:
I have to agree with Jedusi in terms of cropping the pic, but otherwise would leave this shot as is. Nice clear shot, majestic subject, good lighting and colours.

New Born, Yet to Fly
by BrianR

Comment:
This shot STILL cracks me up! The poor little birdie doesn't know what to do with all these ginormous parts attached to him! I might've tried to put him a little less dead centre but I really can't suggest any way to improve the pp, it looks great to me.

Song Sparrow
by skewsme

Comment:
Normally I'm not a border person, but I do like this one here, very soft and effective, and the single branch in the bg gives it a great sense of dof. And the lighting is amazing. Great shot!

I could have danced all night
by quiet_observation

Comment:
I really love this shot, so simple and elegant, excellent use of negative space and looks great in b/w. Really can't see any way to improve on it!

A demure little Nip
by Kelli

Comment:
I love the lighting here, great pose, cool subject, and the branch lends interest to the composition. The darkness of the bg still detracts, would be nice to see it lightened. I gave this one a 7. I don't know what the Orton effect is, but guess I'd better learn!

The Gathering Of The Swans
by SteveJ

Comment:
I do like this shot, it has a lot of potential. I'm going to download a copy and show you how I'd have cropped it, easier than trying to explain it!

OK here it is...

I cropped it, cloned out the leaf and other misc bits of debris in the water and the very tip of the other cygnet's beak, and what was visible of a swan in the very top left. Remember in advanced editing that cloning is allowed!

Then I did a +10 brightness and +16 contrast over whole pic to make the white swans pop a litle more.

Then I magic lasso'd the cygnet, +10 contrast on him, then with the lasso still on him, did 1 pass with usm to try and make him pop a little more.

Hope this helps! :-)

Message edited by author 2008-10-28 12:57:59.

Aspire
by Melethia

Comment:
Too frickin funny that this DID turn out to be your shot! Great focus on the bird and love the use of negative space,and the dof with the distant church spire really adds to the shot. Great capture Deb!

Evening Snack
by Bear_Music

Comment:
Hi Bear! I am so glad I gave this shot a 9, despite/because of the noise. It's a lovely shot, great motion, and the textures add an almost otherworldly quality. Well done, wish it had scored higher!