Thanks to Max and Dennis for their input on the previous Grebe images. I am posting two different crops of the same image. See if I’m on the right track with respect to your feedback. These are Clark’s Grebes. The difference between Western grebes and Clark’s Grebes has to do with the position of the eyes with respect to the black crowned plumage. Clark’s Grebes have their eyes below the black plumage and Western Grebes eyes are in the black plumage.
This image was taken on a very cloudy day from the shore. It was actually raining on us while we were out there.
Specific Feedback Requested
I suppose I was trying to get some balance between the splashing and also giving the birds some space to move into. Perhaps I was asking too much by creating too much negative space and on one of the images and some of the out of focus grebes on the other image.
The third image was taken from a boat on a different day when it was actually sunny. I went back through the shots that I had taken and found this one. This is another large crop, less than 50% of full frame. This one is at ISO 250. Otherwise similar camera attributes.
After looking through all the images I shot I could see how difficult this situation really is. The grebes move apart as they do their rushing procedure. Often they did the rushing near the shore. Of perhaps 50 images I have of the rushing, many have distractions in the background and very few had out of focus grebes in the background. I was only on the lake for three hours at the most and we probably encountered the grebes over less than an hour. I think someone who lives in the area or who has time and access to a boat could really do a good job.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
ISO 800, 400+1.4 X, F5 .6, 3200th, less than 50% of full 50 megapixel frame
The second is the most impactful for me of the three, David. It has that nice long splash trail ending in the two birds pretty large in the frame and far enough from the edge not to feel crowded, but close enough to make it clear they’re headed out of there. The third is a really nice angle on the Grebes and I really like them, but the light on the background grebes seems too intense and they tend to pull my eye rather than complementing foreground birds. You got some very good images for the limited time available.
I agree with @Dennis_Plank in liking the 2nd one best. I feel like the churned up water is really where the action and the story is. That’s what the birds are doing and with it cropped out it hides the main story behind the scene. Very awesome images!
I do think the second is the “cleanest” composition, but I want to mention something with the third that I didn’t get around to last time. I was thinking (after seeing the first post) that if you had some birds off to the upper left, it would actually balance the composition far better… and what you have here is more or less what I was envisioning. I think Dennis has a fair point that, in this case, the background birds are a bit more prominent and a little distracting, but I think their placement in that spot really evens things out in a way that was lacking in the other similar shot you posted earlier.
Also, I’m noticing those yellow feet in this one, and I think they’re a nice touch to play off the bills.
Hi David, the second and third shots both work well for me. I like the separation of the birds in the third shot and agree with the points Max made. The second shot is nice compositionally as well with the birds being at the end of a long run but not too crowded on an edge of the frame. Well done.
I’d be happy with any of the three. These are iconic grebe images I hope to be able to photograph some day. I’m partial to the third image as the grebes are coming at the viewer. Seeing the feet is a nice bonus and I like the water action.
