The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
For most of my Dragon Hunt at Lowe’s Water Gardens the Flame Skimmer ruled this perch. However a usurper arrived while the king was away but not for long. >=))>
Feedback Requested
Kind of a serendipitous capture as I was on the Blue Dasher and had it pretty well dialed in when the Skimmer reclaimed its spot. Is the skimmer too OOF? Does the bokeh distract too much? In a perfect world there would have been more room at the top for the skimmer but this is already an AI expand to “create” a full wing. Trying to go wider produced some pretty lame effects.
Technical Details
Sony A7rIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM-II, 2xTC @ 400mm, CPL
ISO 1600, 1/250 @ f16
Hi Bill, as far as storytelling this is a fine photo with the males of two species battling it out. The details on the blue dasher and plant are quite nice. At first look, I did notice the circular background highlights and blurriness of the top dragon. Still, an interesting behavioral image.
For me this is a killer image. The blur on the skimmer is dynamic, telling the story of attack. The dasher, peacefully indifferent to the attacker, does, however, give us the illusion (?) that it is looking back defiantly, because of those dots in the eye. It would be good if you could somehow fill in more at the top, but…
Bill, a fine DF action shot! Watching DF’s “discuss” who gets the perch is always fun and it’s a good way to get some inflight action. The Dasher and it’s perch are nice and sharp. I also like the colors and shapes in the background as they add to the visual interest. Yes, it would be nice to have the Flame Skimmer completely in the frame, but the action speaks for itself, telling a good story of DF behavior.
