Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Every spring this lady comes for a visit and digs up our lawn. This image was made on her way back to the pond after laying her eggs. She stopped and posed for me.
Any improvements
Lumix S5II
She’s wonderful! Do you fence off or protect the nest at all? I have a friend in NH who has a Blandings turtle laying in her yard and she practically lays land mines to keep the raccoons from digging up the nest. Of course Blandings are rarer and endangered and Snappers aren’t, but the nests are so vulnerable.
Not sure of your settings since you didn’t list them, but with this much light I wonder if a smaller aperture would have gotten the tip of her beak in focus as well as more of her venerable head. Just a thought.
A Cool close up with such a striking eye. You may selectively darken the area around head to make it more defined.
Also posting complete techs may help understand and evaluate the image in better way.
Steve, this is a very nice closeup of a snapper, illustrating the strength in that head. My son and I were privileged to witness a similar event on a sandy island in the CT River years ago. Looks like you used a fairly wide open aperture, which blurred the leg and background, drawing attention to the head. To my eyes, at least, the head is pretty much sharp, but on first seeing the image, I longed for a bit more exposure to brighten it a little.
