Rework
Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction
Please share your immediate response to the image before reading the photographer’s intent (obscured text below) or other comments. The photographer seeks a genuinely unbiased first impression.
Questions to guide your feedback
Do you know these birds, where they live (habitat), their size? Can you relate to this environment?
Other Information
Please leave your feedback before viewing the blurred information below, once you have replied, click to reveal the text and see if your assessment aligns with the photographer. Remember, this if for their benefit to learn what your unbiased reaction is.
Image Description
A pair of Willow ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) maintain their prudent attentiveness as they forage in a snow field. They are surrounded by willows as snow falls about them while the photographer approaches ever-closer, trying to avoid flushing them.
Technical Details
Canon EOS 10D; EF 70-200mm f/5.6 + 2x @ 330mm; f/5.6 @ 1/4000 sec, -1 EV ISO 400, handheld
Specific Feedback
Is image framed to wide? Would tighter crop provide enough information about their habitat?
A nice habitat shot. I like the composition and where the birds are placed in the frame. I suppose a bit could be taken off the right and still show the same habitat, but looks good as presented. The falling snow is a nice touch.
Thank you @Allen_Brooks for your comments and observations. I thought this would be especially appropriate following the recent webinar by Marco Gaiotti titled Habitat.
An excellent habitat image, Bob. Never having seen these in a snowstorm, this is very effective at conveying the environment and it’s a good image of the birds as well.
Hi Bob, I live the Southeast US so I have no direct experience with this bird or habitat. I like the composition with this white bird in the snow surrounded by the brown foliage. Gives a real sense of where these birds live and how they can blend in with the snow.
I’m wondering about the overall image quality - BG especially seems a bit noisy to me like this was a big crop or simply a tad oversharpened.
Still a fine image of an intriguing scene - thanks for sharing.
Thank you @Allen_Sparks for your comments and observations. I have no idea where the artifacts you noted are coming from. I have noticed it with other submissions to NPN. I retuned to the original file and regenerated a new file for submission. On my display the only thing I see are artifacts along the twigs related to wind-generated movement. This image has very shallow depth of field so the fore- and background are not sharp. Just the shallow plane occupied by the birds and a few nearby sticks.
Hi Bob, I don’t notice the artifacts in your repost. Nice frame.
Thank you @ Allen Sparks.It is the same file as initially posted. Thankfully the defects were eliminated.
Your repost Bob is significantly better. The original image has a ton of noise in it. Weird but good of you to figure out how to remove it. I love the environmental aspects of this image too. It really shows why they are all white so that they fit in a cold and wintery climate for at least part of if not most of the year. Love this. Now off to see what you said.
You ask about framing and I think for an environmental shot, your framing is just great. It really shows their habitat well.
