Gliding Alongby
rkligmanComment by vontom: Composition: 7, Technical: 5, Appeal: 5, Challenge: 5, Overall Calculated Average Score: 6
Per your qustions: when I began my review phase, I started with your pic. Seemed fair, you were the first to ask a question. I did, slightly revise my score, but to answer you:
I felt the gliding, as you said, was good, and placed well, but with the birds feet in the water, it feels mired on the right side. In an ideal world, catching him just before he hit would have made this composition just go "POW!" With its feet in the water it lacks some of the motion you wanted.
Probably as a consequence of the shutter speed and fast motion of the subject, the bird is just the tiniest bit blurred. Either more, to really accentuate the motion, or less, to freeze it would have perhaps been more pleasing. Also, the water looks really odd to me. Not quite enough spray to feel captured, and not smooth enough. Again, it's sort of in a middle ground.
On a personal level, I don't care much for pictures of animals, so for appeal, it loses some for me there, but for others, particularly those who love animals, it'll balance out. And for challenge, I could see how this relates, but it is more about the bird than the wind, so middle of the road there too. Hope the comments elucidate my opinion better for you.
Photographer found comment helpful.
