A Gaggle of Geese

FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
edited December 2, 2005 in The Dgrin Challenges
This was taken on Thanksgiving Day along Route 2 in Acton, Massachusetts . The area had experienced a light dusting of snow in the early morning hours. I am of two minds about entering the photo in the challenge. It is a serene picture that makes a really nice print and has a very different feel from the other entries to date. But I wonder if it is too "quiet" - dare I say "boring" - to enter. Critiques and comments welcome. Thanks for looking. - Virginia

45895608-L.jpg
_______________________________________________
"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

Email

Comments

  • davevdavev Registered Users Posts: 3,118 Major grins
    edited November 25, 2005
    I think if you crop the top 1/3 of the picture out, it will look better.
    dave.

    Basking in the shadows of yesterday's triumphs'.
  • illuminati919illuminati919 Registered Users Posts: 713 Major grins
    edited November 25, 2005
    Enter that photo, that is awesome !!!!!
    ~~~www.markoknezevic.com~~~

    Setup: One camera, one lens, and one roll of film.
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 25, 2005
    Thanks, Illumnati. I'm glad you like the picture. :): Dave, thanks for your suggestion. I will experiment with different crops and see if it works better with less sky.

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 25, 2005
    Is this better?
    Here are two different cropped versions with less sky and closer views of the birds. Any thoughts?


    Crop #1
    45936054-L.jpg


    Crop #2
    45936058-L.jpg

    One of the problems I had when I took the picture was that the geese closest to the road walked away as I approached. Crop #2 shows even more south end views of north bound geese that crop #1 but it has a lot less sky. ne_nau.gif I think I am leaning toward crop #1 as between these two.
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • muddykneesmuddyknees Registered Users Posts: 181 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    I like the mood of your first uncropped one.
    Gary http://muddyknees.smugmug.com
  • GREAPERGREAPER Registered Users Posts: 3,113 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    I prefer crop 2 as there are no birds touching or cut off by the edge of the shot.
    http://dehmphoto.smugmug.com/

  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    :uhoh I see your point Greaper. You know how it is with group pictures. So hard to get everyone to cooperate. :lol4 I'll give the picture one more try and see what I can do to make it more pleasing to the eye, which is actually pretty important for this photo since it is about mood and not amazing action or closeup detail. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it! :): Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • 4labs4labs Registered Users Posts: 2,089 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    I like teh original because I think it isn't just about the birds and you really get a better sense of the weather/mood in the uncropped. Nice photograph!
  • gusgus Registered Users Posts: 16,209 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    Now thats a photo i would buy...i think its that good. The contrast of the geese against the snow & those light pastels on the trees behind is perfect.
  • SandySandy Registered Users Posts: 762 Major grins
    edited November 26, 2005
    I thought the original photo was beautiful, then I saw the cropped photos I would choose #2. What lens did you use?
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 27, 2005
    Thanks Humungus and Sandy! You made my day. biggrinbounce2.gif It is really a great feeling when others see what you see in a photo that you like.

    Sandy, I used the EF-S 17-85 IS USM kit lens that came with my 20d and took the photo in RAW at 85mm.

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 27, 2005
    4labs wrote:
    I like teh original because I think it isn't just about the birds and you really get a better sense of the weather/mood in the uncropped. Nice photograph!
    Thanks 4labs. Somehow I missed your comment when I looked at the thread earlier. I really value your input!!

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • cabbeycabbey Registered Users Posts: 1,053 Major grins
    edited November 27, 2005
    Flyinggina wrote:
    This was taken on Thanksgiving Day along Route 2 in Acton, Massachusetts . The area had experienced a light dusting of snow in the early morning hours. I am of two minds about entering the photo in the challenge. It is a serene picture that makes a really nice print and has a very different feel from the other entries to date. But I wonder if it is too "quiet" - dare I say "boring" - to enter. Critiques and comments welcome. Thanks for looking. - Virginia
    I like it actually. Though I am of a mind to agree with Dave on this one, the sky really doesn't add much to the story, and is kinda dull. I hope you don't mind, but I did a quick hack to preview what the image might look like with a slight crop, and I also applied some curvature to the trees to 'demute' them (but not the geese, or the snow.)
    SmugMug Sorcerer - Engineering Team Champion for Commerce, Finance, Security, and Data Support
    http://wall-art.smugmug.com/
  • erich6erich6 Registered Users Posts: 1,638 Major grins
    edited November 28, 2005
    FG, this is a great shot. I like the crops but I also like the span of the original. Don't be afraid of using a wide format ratio 3:1 for this. Either way you go it still works! thumb.gif

    Erich
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited November 28, 2005
    Thanks Cabbey. I do think that getting rid of some of the sky makes for a more interesting picture when it is viewed on the computer screen. (The full picture seems to result in the nicest print, though, even with all of the gray space.) I like what you did to the trees, but I really want to capture what I saw that morning -- the colors muted by a dusting of snow - so I have resisted punching up the color. (This even though I am going through a high color phase.)

    Thanks for your thoughts, Eric. A 3:1 doesn't work for me. It doesn't let me include enough of what gives the capture its mood - the trees. But, as noted above, I like the panorama approach for giving a sense of spaciousness without losing that mood. In any event, I am having a hard time deciding what version to enter in the challenge - or whether to enter at all. Well, there are a few hours yet! :D

    I appreciate both of you taking the time to comment and share your input!

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

    Email
  • TozzanoTozzano Registered Users Posts: 1 Beginner grinner
    edited December 2, 2005
    You really should submit it!
    I like the uncropped one too. Very nice shot. I actually was enjoying the fact that the sky (their domain) is barren, the trees really warm the view, and below the gaggle. thumb.gif
Sign In or Register to comment.