I live in an area next to a salt marsh, and we have several ponds to help with stormwater management. Occasionally we see river otters in the ponds. I captured this image from a bridge over one of the ponds.
and my old eyes, I felt like a significant crop let me see his face better. Would it be better with less cropping and more image of the wood he is next to?
Any other artistic feedback is helpful
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
Nikon D90 with Nikkor DX 18-300 lens at 300mm
f/6.3, 1/200
ISO 400
Cropped about 50% to get a better view of the animal
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I like the pose and the reflection Scott but I think that the left hand side of the picture is too bright for me. In contrast to the nicely exposed wood on the right it becomes a little distracting (I too have old eyes!). There’s a lot of burned out white on the left edge of frame that could be cut out with a further small crop and a bit at the bottom right corner, then maybe some adjustments in Camera RAW or another editor.
Thanks Ryan. I see your point. I will work with it in post processing to see if I can improve that. Personally, I like the beam of light that appears to be shining on the water directly behind the otter’s head, but I agree the stuff around the sides is too bright. Thanks for your help.
I like your composition. Not a very friendly looking otter. The wood has some nice character. I could see the water on the left less bright, though I wouldn’t say my eye is drawn to it-I seem to focus on the otter and then move to the wood. I do like the colors in the water, otherwise.
