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
On my recent trip to Yosemite for Fall colors, I was sitting in my truck watching the climbers on the face of El Capitan ( I may have a permanent neck ache rom looking up at these folks). As I was sitting there a pair of beautiful ravens landed right in front of me on a wooden fence post. To my luck, the fall colors were simply exploding in the background trees providing a nice backdrop to this beautiful couple. I only had a few seconds with these birds before they flew off. So, as I was trying to close my aperture to get better depth of field for sharpness on both birds, they flew off. f/7.1 isn’t going to get both birds sharp but I still like the image.
Feedback Requested
Is the sharpness a deal breaker? The front bird is tack sharp but the rear bird is slightly soft.
Are the white branches in the lower right corner bothersome?
Thanks for your feedback. I always appreciate it.
Technical Details
Camera: z8
Lens: 24-120mm
Focal length: 87mm
Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 6400. It was stormy on this day and it was quite dark.
Flash: none
Wow. Splendid couple of “bad boys”… The image is beautiful and I love the contrast between the black ravens (and their expression) and the fall bright colors of the background. I do not see the slight softness of the second raven as a problem - to me it just gives a sense of depth. Excellent!
YOU did well to get such a decent image with such poor light - and no time to close the aperture - which would have probably just swapped one problem for another.
The sharpness of the second bird doesn’t detract from the picture.
The white in the right lower region is a slight distraction , but for me just adds to the story, and the trunks of the trees tell the detail of the scene - explains what the trees are .
Our eyes naturally go to the right side 'cause thats where the ravens are looking - so I would happily leave it be and something for the wandering eyes to explore before returning to the birds.
A uniform yellow background would have worked very well but there is more of the location story as you have it.
The eye, bill and throat feathers on the rear bird are still very sharp, David, so the very slight softness of other areas is irrelevant in my opinion. This is a lovely image of this pair, with gorgeous plumage detail and that background certainly helps show them off. If I were processing this, I’d probably bring down the birds just a bit, but I’m well known for liking my black birds to be black and the way you processed it is quite lovely.
Why I like about this image is the contrast between dark and light and between gold and blue. I also like the tonal richness in the crows themselves. Their feathers glow. By looking carefully I saw the reflection of the cliffs in their eyeballs. The out of focus is in the dark part of the bird so it’s hardly noticeable.
Very nice David. Great contrast between the dark birds and the pleasing Fall colors in the background. Any focus fall off on the righthand bird doesn’t detract. Wonderful poses. Well done.
Excellent capture, David. Those ravens were everywhere, usually staking out a car. I got a few with the iPhone but didn’t stop to consider a more careful shot. Any lack of sharpness seems negligible to me. It works, and yeah, Igor is right. El Cap in their eyes!
Ooh what a pair of amazing animals. I love ravens so much. Your portrait has so much detail and symmetry in the birds. The shaggy necks and shimmering colors are wonderful. The feather detail is wonderful and I don’t mind that one is in the shadow of the other although you could pull up those shadows if you wanted to. They look harmonious together and as if there is something catching their attention. What mischief will ensue?
My first thought, David, was “Wow, what a great image.” It really pays off to be close to birds as the detail is excellent. As you say more so in the closer one, but still fine in the other, which looks to be in the shadow of the first. Great background as well.
