Red Hot Pokers

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Red-Hot-Pokers-1-ntl.jpg
Red-Hot-Pokers-1-ntl.jpg1600×1262 995 KB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Dallas Dhu, Moray, Scotland

I never do wildlife, I don’t really think I have the necessary equipment or frankly the patience to do it, I am much more obsessed with landscape photography, never-the-less I am quite pleased with this. My wife planted these in our back garden for a wee splash of colour but when I came down early one morning I found that they were incredibly popular with the Tree and House Sparrows after the seeds within. With morning light streaming in I tried some backlit shots but the Sparrows ended up being a little dark, until that is I shut the patio door and let the glass act as a giant reflector to flood some light back onto them.

Fuji GFX50S, Fuji GF 250mm + 1.4x converter, all mounted on a tripod whilst I sat on a sofa with tea and biscuits. Now that’s my sort of wildlife photography.

Specific Feedback

Any feedback welcome.

Technical Details

f5.6, at 1/1250 sec, ISO 1000.

Critique Template

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  • Vision and Purpose:
  • Conceptual:
  • Emotional Impact and Mood:
  • Composition:
  • Balance and Visual Weight:
  • Depth and Dimension:
  • Color:
  • Lighting:
  • Processing:
  • Technical:
2

Hi Ian
You had me at, “I sat on a sofa with tea and biscuits”. The only small nit I have with this photograph is the one out of focus Sparrow in the back-right side of the frame. The kick of the patio door, really helped this photograph. Nice work.
Peter

3

Great job controlling the light, Ian. Using the patio door as a reflector was brilliant. As for composition, I think I’m with Peter on this, but we in the Avian forum tends to place a lot of weight on focus and I think this image, viewed at a respectable distance, would look just fine the way it is.

Thanks for dropping in on us.

4

I like this capture a lot. 3 out of 4 birds in focus is close enough for me to enjoy the capture, and I love these flowers look. I know that hummingbirds love them too. I am really tempted to try to plant some. Thanks for the inspiration.

5

Hi Ian, I really like this image with the row of flowers giving a wonderful context for the birds to forage. Having some elements out of the main plane of focus seems fine to me given the number of flowers and birds involved. I’m really enjoying both looking at this image in a broad context and also peering at the individual elements. Nice BG too. Well done.