What changed: It will be fairly obvious what’s changed. I had plenty of room around to expand the canvas to give the bird a little more breathing space. I started to play and then the perch started to really annoy me. The OOF foreground branches made the perch wishy washy in places. I had another frame, same bird, same perch but about 6’ away where the perch was clear. I tried to copy and paste the perch from one image to another. Accidently, I selected the bird. ..Ran out of characters to finish…
Added after receiving feedback from the community.
The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
Kookaburras are the largest kingfisher. They live in tight family groups all over the east coast of Australia. They seem to do quite well in suburban locations so long as there is nesting hollows, termite nests or nestbox. The extended family, as well as the parent birds, incubates the eggs and tends to the young.
Their “song” starts as a loud chuckle and quickly develops into raucous laughter, usually before dawn.
They eat anything that they can swallow; lizards, snakes, mice, rats, and other birds.
Feedback Requested
All comments are welcome and appreciated.
How’s the composition. Is it a bit tight?
Processing software: Mostly ACR
Major adjustments: The perch had OOF sticks in front of it that made the perch look wishy-washy in places. Branch selected and curves layers to add more contast. Background softened.
Beautiful lighting and the pose of the bird and perch work together nicely, Glennie. I could see a bit more room top and bottom, I don’t know if you have more perch on the sides but if you do, just a slight overall expansion might be nice. I’m waffling over the out of focus leaves in the upper left. The brightest one tends to pull my eye a bit, but in some ways that helps get my eye off the bird and enjoying the fine curve of the perch.
When my wife and I visited in 2013, our first lodging was at a B&B in Mossman Gorge and there was one of these that came in regularly for treats. I was still using a 500mm f/4 at the time and it was often too close.
I’m OK with this one either way. The close-up view of this kingfisher works for me, but I could see as Dennis suggests a little more room. I have one of these flying around my backyard. Well, not a kookaburra but a regular pacific Northwest Kingfisher. I find them very difficult to photograph because they don’t stick around very long and they’re very fast.
Oooh – this is gorgeous! Such soft colors with the BG / surrounding matching the bird so well, and wonderful detail. Not really too tight for me, but a bit more top and bottom could work and easy to expand canvas these days. I agree with @Dennis_Plank about the brightest leaf. I’d just bring it down a bit to fit with the other hints of BG detail.
So this is the same bird duplicated? If it is, it’s very difficult to tell and I for one like seeing a cozy twosome, as this bird is pretty cuddly-looking already. The perch looks a wee bit thicker by the tail of the left hand bird, but anyway you’ve made the perch color more consistent. Top marks for really improving on the lonely original!
Thank you Mike! Yes. Same bird, duplicated. I think you’re right; the branch is a little different, but I’m not too concerned. The image has turned into playtime.
What a great image. I liked the first one but really like the second image! For me the background of the revised photo is better and I love the position of the two (!) Kookaburras on the branch, very cool image.
Well, I think I would have stayed with the original photograph. The expression, eye contact and feather detail are all spot on. The only nit would be the open-up the frame to give the Kingfisher more room in the frame.
Hi Glenys, nice creativity and the revised version is processed very well with a fine result. I love the original image. Such a fine look at this fascinating bird. Great detail and interesting pose. The leaves in the upper left would be an easy fix if you chose.
Thank you @Diane_Miller , @Allen_Sparks , @Dennis_Plank@David_Schoen ! Some great comments and quite evenly divided between the OP and the rework. When time permits, I’ll have another crack at the OP and include more of the surroundings. It’s the OOF branch that runs through the perch that I don’t like. @David_Schoen No AI. Just cut and paste from one image to another, and a bit of cloning over some of the leaves in the BG.
I do like the original which has that ideal soft, bright lighting and the subject is big enough to fit comfortably in the comp. The second version also has some appeal with the extra kookaburra added in the frame. Awesome EP…Jim.
