Cygnet

[Carl Hall]

Went for a walk around Radipole Lake yesterday evening and came across two swans with six cygnets. They were all having a bit of a snooze in the evening sunlight as they floated on the water.

Fuji X-T2 with 100-400.

Feedback greatly appreciated.

 

[Box Brownie]

Simply sublimely beautiful

A minor nit......it might be improved if you crop in the RHS to lose the solid black bar???

 

[Carl Hall]

Simply sublimely beautiful

A minor nit......it might be improved if you crop in the RHS to lose the solid black bar???

Thanks for the feedback I left the black on the RHS as I wanted to keep the little tuft of feathers in the bottom right intact, but I think it might be a bit distracting?

I've cropped it a bit more:

 

[Box Brownie]

IMO it depends in part on the intended output.

By that I mean, if it was my image I would be printing it for mounted display so would leave a little more at the top (as per your original) to ensure the delicate down on the head was still fully visible. Also IMO it is about making sure the eye falls on/is lead to the head and does not wander around the 'frame' because the eye is 'distracted'.

As in all things aesthetic YMMV

 

[pooley]

Lovely moment captured Carl, taken from a perfect angle.

The WB looks a little warm to me, the image is quite 'yellow'. If it was late sun then fair enough but if it were mine I'd reduce the WB a bit. A little subtle sharpening also works wonders to my eyes.

Finally, I don't mind the black strip too much, although I see where BB is come from. However, I do think a bit more space on the left of the frame would help if you have it available just to take the eye away from being too close to the edge of the frame. The only problem might be if tat brings too much black space to the top left corner, but worth a try at least.

That said, it is a lovely shot, I'm not trying to be critical, just that I think there might be a bit more to squeeze out of it

Mike

 

[Carl Hall]

IMO it depends in part on the intended output.

By that I mean, if it was my image I would be printing it for mounted display so would leave a little more at the top (as per your original) to ensure the delicate down on the head was still fully visible. Also IMO it is about making sure the eye falls on/is lead to the head and does not wander around the 'frame' because the eye is 'distracted'.

As in all things aesthetic YMMV

Makes sense In my original crop I tried to use the spiral shape of it's neck and head to draw the viewer around the frame and then end at the birds eye.

 

[Carl Hall]

Lovely moment captured Carl, taken from a perfect angle.

The WB looks a little warm to me, the image is quite 'yellow'. If it was late sun then fair enough but if it were mine I'd reduce the WB a bit. A little subtle sharpening also works wonders to my eyes.

Finally, I don't mind the black strip too much, although I see where BB is come from. However, I do think a bit more space on the left of the frame would help if you have it available just to take the eye away from being too close to the edge of the frame. The only problem might be if tat brings too much black space to the top left corner, but worth a try at least.

That said, it is a lovely shot, I'm not trying to be critical, just that I think there might be a bit more to squeeze out of it

Mike

Thanks Mike! Yes it was taken shortly before sunset with the bird being in the direct sunlight. It does look a bit warmer on the screen I'm looking on now compared to my iMac that I did the edit on though! I might cool it down a tad. I've sharpened it a little but I'm always wary about going to far, so maybe I didn't go far enough this time.

I'll revisit the crop and see if I can add a touch to the LHS. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated

 

[Carl Hall]

 

[pooley]

I do prefer the extra space on the left. I find it helps with the 'virtual bill' that we know is there, albeit hidden. The upper left dark patch doesn't bother me now I've seen it.

Mike