Multiple layers that have been severally brightened & contrasted, parts magic erased, blurred, smudged, lighting effects (directional spots on layer behind subject) help subject "stand-out" from background. Used magic extractor and magic wand.
Subject: Hummingbird Pull-Chain for our living room ceiling fan. Used originally for the Two Second Challenge with the intent to capture the movement of the fan blades as a nice background for the hummingbird. (The blades just appeared to be an area of glowing orange.)
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I find this image a little hard to look at... I don't mean that it's a bad photo, just that it makes me think to much, I think.
You've shot the image on an angle, and the title tells me that it's hanging on a chain, so I expect to see some blur, or some other sign that the wee bird is swinging around on the chain. It'd be interesting to know if you wanted to show motion by shooting it on an angle?
When you're shooting a photo for a specific 'market' you often need to sit back and wonder how other people will see the shot. Do they see the off angle as a striking feature, or does it confuse the viewer? I think you're somewhere in the middle of confusion and feature with this one..
The other slightly odd thing to my eye is the way the Hummingbird is doing a nose-dive when they are normally shot with their beak horizontal, flying into one flower or another.. If I rotate your shot 90 degrees counterclockwise it looks much more natural to me.
Now that I'm over my confusion with the orienation and movement (or lack there of) the image itself is technically OK. Focus appears to be good on the bird, although it is looks slightly over exposed on the chest/front of the bird. The background hints at where the bird is, but isn't too distracting.
Compositionally (Long word for the day) the chain leads the eye out of the photo.
When I look at the image I see the bird and it's strong colours, then my eye follows the chain up to the top right, and out of the picture. There's nothing to pull me back in. Where you've got leading lines in an image they either need to be the center of attention like a long road or fence leading off into the distance, or they have to have an anchor, to stop them carrying away the eye from the main subject. In this case the chain isn't the main subject, but carries the viewer off to the right where most people naturally want to go in the first place..
Hmmm, that's a bit of a waffly critique, but I hope it's helpful. This image is certainly an improvement on your 2 second entry, which was the intention of this challenge, thanks for sharing...
Thanks for the chance to improve this photo for competition! It doesn't to have improved the scores any, but at least I feel better about the result.
With improved lighting, creativity & saturation, I have provided the viewer with an image that one can describe intelligently, even if it doesn't evoke pathos to "write home about it."
Oh, well, I guess you can't get a "car out of the mud" if you're not willing to get 'down & dirty' with all attempts. I will continue to hold onto the hope that I will "get the concept" one day and get my photography unstuck. 8P Stan
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