The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I apologize in advance, but in this time of the year I can’t avoid another grebe image.
The Great crested grebes had 4 eggs and 3 youngsters now, a few days earlier than I expected. One of the birds had been hunting without success and offered a kind of “placebo”, to keep the kids quiet. As soon as they are a bit larger, that won’t be enough.
Specific Feedback
Any comment is welcome.
Technical Details
Pentax K3 Mk. III, Sigma 4/100-300mm @300mm, ISO800, f/6.3, 1/640s. Strong crop.
RAW conversion in DxO PL6, little further editing.
That’s a great moment, Han. The bill placement of all 3 is just right. And cropping in close allows us to see the chick clearly. I’m enjoying the centralized action too and have no problems with the left bird being cut. Well done.
Beautiful image Han. Very appealing subjects so I can see why you focus on these. The interaction captured is wonderful and I like your composition choice. Techs looks good with fine exposure throughout. Details seemed to have held up quite well given the crop you mentioned. Nice look at the eyes of all subjects. A really fine image.
Don’t feel bad about this at all! In fact, do more. Even if this was something as mundane as mallards, the moment is touching and perfectly caught - all the positions are right where they should be, as if you posed them. It’s nice you get this so early in the year. Agree that the lighter reflection in the URC could easily go. Great job and timing with this one.
I really like how the baby Grebe (Dabchick? or Grebette?) is nestled on mom’s back while dad is offering the morsel.
I’m assuming that dad is the one with the morsel, I don’t have a lot of knowledge in that area.
I also really like the color scheme of the Grebette accepting the morsel
Wonderful display of mom and dad taking care of their young ones!
The DOF, colors, saturation, contrast, environment, composition, perspective from a low angle, eye contact, poses, and message are all very well captured, processed and presented!
Just a wonderful image and there’s certainly no need to apologize for showing this moment!
Maybe a photo project could be made out of this type of family interaction? Just a thought.
No need to apologize for this (or any posting). You have captured a fabulous moment!
Did you capture more of the left bird? It would be interesting to see that included…you may need to crop in so much as the moment is so strong? Just a thought, very lovely image as is!
Beautiful job on the exposure and focus in this image, Han, and of course the subjects and interaction are superb. You mention a strong crop. To my eye, this image feels a little off-balance. If you have it, you might look at including all of both adults. A very minor nit, but the bright piece of out of focus brown debris behind the right bird’s head draws my eye quite a bit. I’d be tempted to either remove it or at least tone it down.
What a nice shot! I didn’t even see the baby until I looked at it large! Wow!
I think you could improve the image by cloning out the distractions in the water. Don’t remove the shadows, but get rid of the white & brown spots.
I do love the color and softness of the duck’s heads. Others might disagree, but I would crop it tighter so the beaks are in the center and the baby is more visible. I think that would make it a stronger image. It’s a great start though! I’d love to capture something this nice!
Thanks to all who commented: @Kris_Smith , @Merv , @Robena.Sirett , @Diane_Miller , @Mike_Friel , @Dennis_Plank, @peter and @Allen_Sparks (did I forget anyone?).
For those who would like to see more of the left bird: there are several remains of dead trees in the water. The grebes use these to attach the floating nest. The left bird is partially hidden by a dead branch that sticks out of the water. @Dennis_Plank : I see what you mean, I can tone down this spot. The same for the lighter band in the URC. I don’t mind the other debris in the water, frankly.
If the weather allows, I’ll keep an eye on the birds in the next weeks. Bright sunshine often leads to blown out spots in the heads, unless you underexpose strongly, which has its price for the dark parts of the birds. The best is an overcast day with thin clouds. And the young birds will leave the back of the parent very soon, especially when food arrives. So this interaction will disappear within days.
I’m afraid that the 3rd youngster has little chance to survive. I’m not sure, but I think that the birds start to breed immediately after the first egg. This means, that all the food goes to the strongest: the largest young leaves the back of the parent to get the food, before his brothers/sisters are able to do so.
Anyhow, I will always be surprised by the size of the fish that these small young creatures can swallow.
Nice, intimate family portrait ! Very nice to have the feeding captured ! Always fun to watch and shoot. You may consider working on the white balance a bit , at least on my screen it seems to have a little too much magenta, but I may be wrong. Other than that, a very fine image ! best, Hans
