Different Day, Another Ramble

[rtbaum]

I really can not decide which of the first two I prefer



trumpeter swans, lightly cropped to eliminate third swan with head submerged

or




tighter crop to isolate the action


and also caught this guy




Eastern Bluebird

not sure if I should eliminate tree trunk, I sort of feel that the color of the tree adds to the shot

[orlcam88]

I like the cropped version of the trumpeter but it looks like there's a stronger blue tint on it. I like the color tint on the original better.
On the Bluebird, it definitely needs to be cropped as the subject is about 1/6 of the frame. I'm not sure if the tree adds or subtracts. I've been placing my hand over the image to see what I like better. Seems like if you take the trunk away, you'll get a better focus on the bird but it's too empty. With the trunk, I see this first but the branch leads me to the bird which is ok. What I would do, is crop the bottom just slightly below the start of the branch. And crop part of the trunk about half-way. You can crop a bit on the right also. That should give the bird a better percentage of the frame.

[rtbaum]

Orlando-Funny how are minds were on the same wavelength, I was revisiting the post to do just that



On second viewing, I recognize the shot is a little soft; next addition to my kit will have to be a beanbag!!

[orlcam88]

. I noticed it was soft but you was asking about cropping and it wasn't much of a bother for my eyes. I still like the shot. Ilooks much better!

[rtbaum]

Shot at f5.6 and 1/200 sec, was shutter speed too slow for 400mm braced in window frame. Pretty windy as well, in high profile vehicle. Or maybe, I really gotta get a bean bag


or; http://www.ehow.com/how_6957103_make...a-beanbag.html

[orlcam88]

with those settings that's not a bad photo. you have a steady hand and the bird was cooperating by staying still!! the softness is most likely the f-stop.