Oh man these are so fabulous. I’ve never watched this before so this is a nice surprise. The black and white does a great job isolating them from the background and oh…the energy! The frozen water and the pattern behind them is really striking. I love the way it splashes all around them. The contrast might be a tad strong for my taste, but that’s just me. Really engaging photos. Do they vocalize at all while doing this? That would be a real song and dance.
This is wonderful, I’ve never seen this behavior. I love the black-and-white. For me, I prefer the closeup. The wide shot feels like they don’t have much room to keep moving to the right. Sharpness and everything else is great!
Hi Karl,
This is poetry in motion; just like two synchronized dancers! This is hard to pick a favorite as I love that trail of water splashes in the first, while I am enjoying the closeup details in the second. Both are winners IMO. This had to be wonderful to witness this ritual first hand.
My favorite is the wider view, Karl. I just love that long sting of frozen droplets behind the grebes. The closer view does emphasize the birds more, but I don’t think it’s necessary to do so. The image, to me, is about the motion more than the birds themselves, though they are obviously an important part of it.
Wonderful captures Karl! I really like both and I think each are well composed. The wide shot with trailing splashes demonstrates the length of the above water display. The close up really shows the magnificence and power of the birds. The black and white treatment looks good to me. Well done!
The monochrome looks great. And this is such a nice example of why one doesn’t always have to leave more room in front of the subject rather than behind.
Oh yeah – the wider one hands down! The churned up wake is gorgeous in itself and tells the story of this amazing dance! I think the more reflection in that one is also a very nice touch. A touch less contrast is worth exploring. Awesome!
Great shot Karl. Having seen and photographed this behavior myself, I know how special the moment can be. The black and white treatment here works so well. The dark background really accentuates the birds and the water droplets so they really stand out. How much post processing was involved in achieving this look?
The key is in getting it right to begin with - high shutter speed and to be lucky enough to have the water droplets and subjects in the same plane - some forgiveness here if your shutter speed is 1/6000 sec ( this was 1/3200 )
Convert to standard B/W - then in PS, duplicate image and try a Multiply blend mode - adjust for opacity taste and masking in / out locally depending on the look
Hope that this helps
Hi Karl
Both photographs would make my day. The B&W, really highlights the dance. I think I would open up the close up some, but that me. Very good overall job on these images.
Peter
