Grackle
by cdpayne

Comment by cdpayne:
Thank you all! I believe it IS a female adult...though I could be wrong. It was approximately the same size as the adult males, which were black.

pel2
by cdpayne

Comment by cdpayne:
Glad to hear that...I thought it was maybe just me. I find them to be very beautiful, when most see them as ugly.

38s
by cdpayne

Comment by cdpayne:
Thanks for giving me specifics on the things that worked well...as that's just as helpful as comments about what doesn't work. :)

FINALmed
by cdpayne

Comment by cdpayne:
Some excellent advice given there, and of things I had not considered. Thanks very much!

pel2
by cdpayne

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
I love pelicans! Fascinating birds. I have a bunch from my bike ride around Galveston last year that I need to break out and work on again.

FINALmed
by cdpayne

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
A cute sequence. I find there is some background clutter and that deep blue sky that draws my attention away from the subject. Perhaps a panoramic crop could help to draw the viewer to what you want them to look at. Another thing I often do is to use a subtle dark vignette to reduce the impact of peripheral elements in the scene. It draws the viewers eye where I want it to go, but is not so strong as to announce that I used a vignette.

Message edited by author 2012-04-14 15:11:54.

egret3sm
by cdpayne

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
Egrets seem to be tough birds to photograph, as they are such a bright white that it is hard to not blow out details. These are all good basic shots, but not great. The birds just aren't doing anything that grabs my attention. Check vawendy's portfolio for some great examples of creative treatments of egrets & herons.

38s
by cdpayne

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
I like this best out of the football shots. Good action and you caught a great expression. Background is nicely blurred so it doesn't pull my eye away from the main subject.

IMG_3648
by cdpayne

Comment by KarenNfld:
An excellent photo. I've only seen this type once before and not this close.

IMG_3966
by cdpayne

Comment by KarenNfld:
How nice! I've seen one of these before, swimming with the ducks. It's quite small.