Silent Gliders

[ceeboy14]

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice shots, I really like the second one. Where were these taken?

WesternGuy

 

[ceeboy14]

Nice shots, I really like the second one. Where were these taken?

WesternGuy

On a pond about a mile from my house. It's the same place I've been shooting all my recent birding shots. Why do you like the second over the first? Is it because the gull is flying away from the camera?

 

[WesternGuy]

Nice shots, I really like the second one. Where were these taken?

WesternGuy

On a pond about a mile from my house. It's the same place I've been shooting all my recent birding shots. Why do you like the second over the first? Is it because the gull is flying away from the camera?

a mile from my house...I'm jealous . Both pictures are quite sharp and in focus, but the reason I like the second one goes to the basics of bird photography for me, at least how I sort of learned them. In the second one you can see the bird's eye, it is in sharp focus and has the hint of a catchlight in it - these are a couple of the things I have learned from following Art Morris' blog and reading his books. If you are not familiar with his stuff, you can check it out here - Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART - it can be a bit commercial in places (guy has to make a living), but if you ignore that and go for the essence of his work, it is pretty impressive. As well, there is a complete "book" on bird photography on the web. If you haven't seen it, then go to - Secrets of Digital Bird Photography. HTH.

WesternGuy

P.S.I will be attending one of Art Morris' bird photography schools/tours out of Fort Meyers in a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to it.

 

[ceeboy14]

Just googled it and it is really 4 miles...but I also PM'ed you and you can see from the map I live in a shooter's paradise - at times.

 

[Parker219]

Agree that the 2nd one is stronger. It is really good IMO, for some reason I love that shade of dark blue the water has, it white bird POP. I also like how the white feathers have some detail in them, and are not just white blobs. You can see the feathers nicely.

If someone was trying to be picky, they might say the feet blend in with the water, but since both are dark, I am not sure there is anything you would want or could do.