The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
A bonus while photographing landscapes: a group of rock ptarmigans that posed for us for several minutes. I have different images, also more close up and of single birds, but I like to show them in their habitat.
The birds weren’t shy, moving around over the rocks at the edge of a valley. Suddenly they hurried away, and the cause was clear: a merlin was flying over the slopes. Way too small to pose any threat to the ptarmigans, but they decided to be better safe than sorry.
Specific Feedback
I like the pose of the bird at the right side, looking over the edge. Do you agree?
I decreased the saturation of the colours on the slope (it was autumn) in the BG a bit. Still too much colour, taking away the attention from the birds? Do you propose to remove the yellowish vegetation at the right edge, just above the rock?
Technical Details
Pentax K3 Mk. III, 55-300 @190mm, ISO800, 1/400s, f/9.
RAW conversion in DxO PL6, small corrections in curves, decreased saturation in the BG.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Very nice, Han. This has the feel that it might be a mother and three of her young of the season, but that might just be my perception. A very nice behavioral and habitat image.
Han, I love this! Excellent environmental image with sharp birds and rocks. I like the one peering over the edge…
The orange from the fall trees in the BG feels a little intrusive to me and out of context. You might consider toning it down just a bit and see what you think.
Fine image!
A very nice catch! I like the environment – maybe the color in the BG (lichen?) could be toned down just a bit more but I do like that it’s there. Same for the yellow on the right edge. Nice sharpness and detail on the birds.
Thank you @Dennis_Plank , @David_Schoen , @SandyR-B and @Diane_Miller for your comments.
David, this is Iceland indeed, but not very far from the coast, south of the Vatnajökul. The birds normally blend very well in the environment. Here they stand out at an edge, but we hardly noticed them a few minutes earlier when they stood in the vegetation.
The orange in the BG are neither fall trees nor lichen, but low vegetation. It is too far away to determine, but I think that it is a combination of yellow grasses, moss and red leaves of wild berries. I’ll follow the suggestion to tone down the colour a bit.
Hi Han, very nice environmental image to set off these photogenic birds. The BG colors look subtle enough to me. Interesting rock formation they are perched on. A fine image.
