Why did I miss the mark on this shot?

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

02/06/2006 12:57:09 PM · #1

This is not a complaint but a request to see my shot through your eyes. Since I did not get any comments during the challenge it would be nice to know where I went wrong on this.

I went for something different for a change. My shot was meant to have the blue cast in order to instill the cold feeling of an unsuccessful hunt during witner. I went kind of artsy for me and looks like I failed. Why?

Thanks in advace for the evaluation.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

02/06/2006 01:06:36 PM · #2

There's an overall sense of harshness, sort of, here. The sky and the darks are bot clipped, so you're losing detail at both ends. Yet there's still some detail in the bird, but not enough to really make him out. It's difficult for me to define why this feels "off" to me, but it just doesn't seem smoothly done.

Another factor, for this challenge, is that the bird is too close to being centered. Bird and snag together are off-center for sure, but nonetheless the ege basically comes to rest under the arc of the bird's wing and that's smack-dab on-center.

I'd be interested to see the original and explore other treatments of the image if you were intersted.

R.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

02/06/2006 01:08:50 PM · #3

Left a comment, CC style.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

02/06/2006 01:21:50 PM · #4

Thanks for all the quick replies. Yeah, I see the foreground blur distraction and flying out of the frame issues. Figured they would hurt me but I wanted the ducks in the background because of the story I wanted the photo to tell. This was a quick shot as I saw the eagle fly in to land a little late. It was quite backlit and I had no time to adjust. As you will see from the original below (covererted from RAW) it was tough to restore any dynamic range. Looks like just a bad choice of entries. But hey, I still like it and it was fun getting out.

Message edited by author 2006-02-06 13:22:05.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

02/06/2006 01:27:35 PM · #5

Originally posted by jbsmithana:

In a lot of cases you have to take what you can get. However, with a little patience you can set yourself up for the shot you want and wait and then wait some more for the exact moment.

If eagles are regulars at the lake consider returning but position yourself so the landing point will be in a position for the bird to be facing into the frame while still showing the ducks in the background.

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

02/06/2006 01:34:33 PM · #6

Originally posted by cpanaioti:

Colette - patience? You want a man to have patience? LOL.

I know what you mean though. I have gone out and set up and waited, and waited, and then given up and moved. About the time I move in comes the shot I was waiting for. Seems my timing is always a little off. But I just love getting out to these areas so no harm, no foul.

BTW - this is the Skagit River delta area on Fir Island, Washington State. Mostly tidal flats so the situation changes with the tide and the the sun. These particular shots, and the ones I took of the Snowy Owl, I had to slog through the mud, almost getting stranded a couple of times, to reach some of the better areas. But it is so much fun!

Thanks for the comemnts.

Message edited by author 2006-02-06 13:35:21.

cpanaioti

Canon EOS-40D

02/06/2006 01:36:55 PM · #7

Originally posted by jbsmithana:

Originally posted by cpanaioti:
In a lot of cases you have to take what you can get. However, with a little patience you can set yourself up for the shot you want and wait and then wait some more for the exact moment.

If eagles are regulars at the lake consider returning but position yourself so the landing point will be in a position for the bird to be facing into the frame while still showing the ducks in the background.

Colette - patience? You want a man to have patience? LOL.

I know what you mean though. I have gone out and set up and waited, and waited, and then given up and moved. About the time I move in comes the shot I was waiting for. Seems my timing is always a little off. But I just love getting out to these areas so no harm, no foul.

BTW - this is the Skagit River delta area on Fir Island, Washington State. Mostly tidal flats so the situation changes with the tide and the the sun. These particular shots, and the ones I took of the Snowy Owl, I had to slog through the mud, almost getting stranded a couple of times, to reach some of the better areas. But it is so much fun!

Thanks for the comemnts.

You think that's bad. I was at a photography exihibit on the weekend and one of the photographers spent days in -20C weather to capture a shot of two great blue herons fighting mid-air.

olddj

Canon EOS-20D

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro for Canon

02/06/2006 01:52:58 PM · #8

Left comment on photo!

Jacque

02/06/2006 02:01:20 PM · #9

Thanks Jacque and to all. Very helpful comments.

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

02/06/2006 03:52:43 PM · #10

Wow, you guys and gals are assume. No comments during challenge and now ten good ones, two more since my last post! I'm learning everytime out. And this week we are going to have sun and no rain! Yahoo, after a month of yul I'll go see if I can find this eagle working the same snag.

Thanks again.

pawdrix

Nikon D700

02/06/2006 05:07:42 PM · #11

I'm not certain if anybody mentioned this but the branches that are blurred in the forefront are thing which drive me nuts...I can't stand a lot of blur right up front on almost any image...

As I get up in years and my eyes are getting a little weaker my initial reaction to blur as such scares me...makes me think I need glasses...makes my eyes start doing a wierd focusing dance.

zeuszen

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

02/06/2006 05:44:14 PM · #12

Wildlife, birds of prey and eagles are a fairly well covered genre too. It helps, of course, if you manage to get a shot that truly stands out. You want to get close enough to come away with good detail, particularly in a situation like this where you're already fighting the light.

The story is there alright, but the thing to remember is that a story which has already been told many times has to be told proportionately bigger and better every time we revisit it... ;-0