If I were the guru of bird photography, Arthur (Artie) Morris, I'd have photoshopped those annoying leaves out of the way to expose the tip of the bird's beak and the end of its tail. Maybe a lot more. But I don't have Artie's skills and I'm less comfortable than he is with deliberate, extensive image manipulation, although I find it hard to defend my reluctance. (Please note this isn't a criticism of his approach).
Still, I like this photo even if it has flaws. This is how I so often see these little birds — poised in a moment, not entirely on show, almost not there.
Of course, if I'd been Artie, I'd have been starting with a far better photo.
[1 April 2011, Panasonic Lumix GH1, 100–300 mm at 300 mm, ISO 400, 1/250 at f5.6]
All content © 2011 Pete McGregor
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3 comments:
Ah, one of my favorites of your avian subjects! I like the unaffectedness of this composition, and I especially like the ruffled feathers. Sweet.
I don't know this Artie guy, but I prefer the bird in it's environment. Not flaws, reality, which is not perfect and not "for display."
Very green.
Barbara, thank you. They're cute little birds, but the orchardists and, in particular, grape growers don't like them. They can cause a lot of damage to fruit. On the other hand, they eat a lot of caterpillars, many of which would have been pests if they hadn't already been killed by the orchardists' and grape growers' sprays.
Zhoen, me too. Also, extensive "cleaning up", applied too often, can lead to a sameness about bird photos. I think the same can be said about photos of people.
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