Panel comments on photo –Take off

We have received out next photo for comment.  This was an interesting one to get comments on, as it is obviously a good photo, but it had a number of challenges.  At the club evening there was a short debate if this can be accepted as a nature entry.  The judges did decide to give the author the benefit of the doubt and judged the photo in the nature category.

As before, you can view the full original image by clicking on it.  Remember to add your comments as well.  Here is the photo and thanks to the panel for their comments.

Panel Comments 1

Always great to capture a bird in flight and the head and eyes are sharp and we can see the movement in the wings which is also a plus.   The bird is completely lost against the back ground and does not stand out at all. If a shallower depth of field had been used the background would have been more out of focus.

Panel Comments 2

The key attraction in this pic is the eyes of the owl, which is also sharply in focus - very fortunate indeed. Higher shutter speed would have helped to sharpen the moving wings, but that is not always possible in the circumstances. Pity the background is similar to owl plumage but then that is why nature invented camouflage...  the background deprives the shot of needed perspective, being very uniform and flat. The pic could perhaps benefit from increased colour saturation to relieve the dullness and accentuate the eyes. This is allowed for nature category.

Panel Comments 3

This is a photo that one would normally be very proud of as it is technically good.  Unfortunately the background killed the photo for me and you will require heave post processing to try and make something of this photo. Personally, I think you were lucky not to be disqualified.  Photos with man made components will always be risky to enter in the nature category.

Panel Comments 4

Ek hou van die foto en die outeur het die uil baie mooi vasgevang in vlug. Die vlerke wat ‘n bietjie uit fokus is wys vir my daar is beweging. Die oë is baie mooi skerp wat belangrik is. Die agtergrond veroorsaak dat die uil bietjie wegraak in die foto. Ek sal ook voorstel dat die outeur die uil stywer crop in ‘n portret formaat. Sny die linkerkanste gedeelte af.

Panel Comments 5

The original image was very well captured and I particularly like the slight movement in the wings. It shows movement and the bird is in flight. As presented and compared with the original image, the author did very well in applying a horizontal flip.

There is however a concern about the Nature category. The thatch roof indicates captivity or a sanctuary and many arguments may follow but some judges may not approve of this.

Unfortunately the original image does have some problems

1. The eye is drawn to lighter areas and in this case the big area on the left marked in red circle competes with the bird. The same applies in a lesser value with the smaller red circle.

2. The green circles indicate areas where the grass on the thatch roof seems damaged.
3. A bigger problem is the background competing with the subject. It is of similar colour and one would like to separate the bird more from the background.

Suggested Post Processing

Because of the limitations of the Nature category I will suggest the following;

1. 1. The cropping can be done like the image suggest below. The eyes are the focal point of this image and are so strong that placing it in the middle of the image would improve the impact of this image and will also remove the big distracting area on the left. With this crop, the wings are placed on the two thirds making the composition even stronger.
2. The horizontal third is slightly below the bird giving the photo the impression that the bird is flying into the frame.
3. With this crop, I do not believe the horizontal flip will add more impact.
4. Lastly, the distracting damaged thatch roof was corrected using the clone tool

The final Image

Some adjustment in exposure (-1 stop) on the whole image and then selective exposure adjustment on the bird to bring it back to the original exposure seem to separate the background.

In an open category one could also apply a slight vignette to get rid of the over exposed thatch and focus the viewer on the bird.

Lastly

Well done with the image. The shutter speed was perfectly selected to freeze the bird, yet show the wing movement.

Panel comments on photo–Plek van my hart

We have received a photo from a 4* member asking for comments on a photo as entered in the February competition.  You might remember this panorama photo as entered in the theme section.

From the comments we received back, it is clear that this is a good photo and ideally suited for a panorama entry.  The panel had little to add to improve the photo, apart from suggestions how the author can increase the impact of the photo with a little more punch.  Some sample photos were also provided to illustrate the points made.  Let us know what you think.

As before, you can click on the photo to view the full size original. 

Panel comment 1

This image as a panorama works very well and depicts the wildlife in its environment.   I added a bit of contrast to the image which I feel gives it a bit more punch.   There is very good detail in the sky and reflections just add to the image.   The only thing I would have done is add this little bit of contrast that I said and I cropped slightly on the left. See the proposal below:

Panel comment 2

This is a very pretty panorama, with nice colours and it conveys a peaceful atmosphere.  I really like the Giraffe in the picture as it provide context to the photograph and gives the viewer an idea of the vastness of the space.    The reflection in the pool of water is also very appealing
 
Possibly some room for improvement in that the horizon is centrally placed in the photograph – I would suggest that the author possibly reconsider the way that the photograph was cropped, if there is enough room, I would leave a little more space in the foreground and less of the sky in order to move the horizon more towards a third in order to give the picture more impact
 
There appears to be a halo around the tree on the left hand side, this could be due to too much post processing, or over saturation, also prevalent in the very blue sky in the left hand corner of the picture

Panel comment 3

My impression is that this photo tells us a strong story and one can almost feel the atmosphere that the author must have experienced.  Looking at the original photo, I think it was well stitched together into this panorama and not much to improve.

In an attempt to give the photo more impact you can consider to increase the contrast to make the beautiful colours stronger and a looser crop gives me a bit more context to the photo.  Smaller touches were to reduce the halo around the tree and boost the reflection in the water.  See the proposal below: