Dance of Dawn & Mystery Reflection

[Brownbear]

I would appreciate some advice on the swan image, my first back-lit swan. I think it is too centered and I would like to add some appeal to the brambly trees in the background. I'm thinking it could be a keeper.

Dance of Dawn

f/4 1/1000 ISO 140 Focal Length 300 mm



I've cropped a bit off of the bottom so the image is less centered at the cost of losing some of the water which I find attractive. I could crop off of the left hand side but I love the bare tree and the branches sticking out of the water.


Mystery Reflection

f/4 1/500 sec ISO 100 Focal Length - Heavy Crops to Show the Reflections

Two Moments in Time?



Another shot of the same duck... just normal reflections as are all the other images of this duck




Just a duck image but I would like to know why the reflection of the ducks head shows a different moment in time. I don't think it is motion blur but could be... I would love to know why the reflection is different simply because that has implications for photographing anything with reflections. Thank you.

[Manfred M]

Your first shot is gorgeous; and your timing with swan landing is perfect; with the wings open and the water spraying.

I think your crop on the bottom makes sense, but think you need to have the swan itself less centred. I would try a fairly agressive crop on the left of the shot to see how that turns out. I might also look at removing the branch sticking out of the water in post, to see if that helps at all.

[bnnrcn]

#1 is beautiful Christina but a difficult composition.I would try a square crop with the swan in the centre and remove the branch on the left .I think you will have to try different suggestions and different crops to find the best. I loved the swan's posture and lighting in the image.

[deetheturk]

+1 to Manfreds comments Christina,if i can get to you and Manfred's standards i will be a happy snapper

David

[AndrewMcD]

I suspect with the second image you are getting multiple reflections from an uneven water surface.

I love the first one and wouldn't get too attached to anything in the image that isn't the bird and spray. Of course somebody may be able to advise on how to get the background trees to compliment the main subject but unfortunately that is beyond me.

Andrew

[Gigi71]

Both pictures are beautiful, Christina, and at the second I also would guess it's the motion of the water that causes the blur.

[Mike Buckley]

Gorgeous first photo! I would crop on the left to eliminate all branches on the left side except for the lone branch. I would then clone to remove it. The result would be a very pleasing aspect ratio of about 8 x 10.

I've given up on figuring out reflections, so I won't try to explain why the beak is open in the reflection and not in the source. I've seen this kind of seemingly unexplainable situation often enough with my glass subjects that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the source beak is actually open even though we can't see that it is.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Manfred. Very nice to hear especially as I was of the mind that I was just being swayed by the water droplets and mist.

Here is the crop. I was reluctant to lose the tree and the branch because at the time I was of the mind that they added to the image, framing and a natural leading line. However after cropping I think it is okay to lose them, and it was easy to heal out the wee bit of branch remaining.

On this one I didn't erase my unsharp mask from the trees (just saving time) but I think I should've because the speckles seem a bit bright. And also because of the crop the water has some funky bits to it even though I used a low ISO...



Please let me know what you think of my edit. Thank you.

Your first shot is gorgeous; and your timing with swan landing is perfect; with the wings open and the water spraying.

I think your crop on the bottom makes sense, but think you need to have the swan itself less centred. I would try a fairly agressive crop on the left of the shot to see how that turns out. I might also look at removing the branch sticking out of the water in post, to see if that helps at all.

[Donald]

That is beautiful. Well done, Christina. You got everything right with this. And the question you and Mike raise about those branches on the left? Well, that's about choice. Either way, it's still a beauty.

[Geoff F]

I suspect #1 is one of those scenes where everybody would do something different.

For me, I would lose a little of that 'heavy' and dark foliage from the top. Possibly just a fraction from the left side. Ending up with a 3 x 2 ratio image.

I don't think it matters too much about the main subject being central, although you could reduce the left side if needed. Probably a case of try several options before finally making a decision.

[Shadowman]

Very nice images. Did you do any noise reduction to the first image? If so, that could be the cause of the loss of detail in the branches.

[Donald]

Please let me know what you think of my edit.

Now that I see this, I realise I like the proportions in the original. In the edit the bird fills a greater proportion of the area of the image, but for me it loses something of the romanticism and atmosphere of the original.

[Mike Buckley]

For me, the background in the first one as is complements rather than detracts from the back lit water droplets in the splash.

[Brownbear]

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I'm very happy to hear that the swan is liked as it is a very different type of image for me.

I didn't have a chance to read the suggestions until now. So I will try Mike's and Binnur's suggestion for a crop and post that. Mike, I can't clone well at all... If the crop leaves just a little easy branch then I'm fine and will do.

Binnur... Yes, those leafless trees are not the prettiest. However once spring is here if I can find the light, mist and the swans again, I will try again.


David... I would be a happy snapper if I could manage bugs at your standard!

Andrew... Yes, I now realize that the tree is not necessary

Bridgette... Thank you. I'm not so sure about the water blur thing because this is the first time I've seen such a phenomena... I reposted a cropped version, and it sure looks like two different moments in time to me.

Mike... Thank you! I will try your suggestion next... I've asked everyone I know about the reflection and no one knows, and I wish I knew why. If I photographed a landscape and the reflection in the water was different it would be odd, and if one could replicate different moments of time in a bird reflection I think that could be a lot of fun, but only if it was easy and fast to do. The ducks beak was closed the entire time I photographed it, as seen from 5-6 photos taken in a row. Anyhow it is nice to know that you have seen this type of thing.

Thank you to all!

[Manfred M]

Thank you Manfred. Very nice to hear especially as I was of the mind that I was just being swayed by the water droplets and mist.

Here is the crop. I was reluctant to lose the tree and the branch because at the time I was of the mind that they added to the image, framing and a natural leading line. However after cropping I think it is okay to lose them, and it was easy to heal out the wee bit of branch remaining.

On this one I didn't erase my unsharp mask from the trees (just saving time) but I think I should've because the speckles seem a bit bright. And also because of the crop the water has some funky bits to it even though I used a low ISO...



Please let me know what you think of my edit. Thank you.

I like the positioning of the swan a lot better. See what the shot looks like if you crop 10% - 20% off the top of the trees now, I don't think you need quite as much as you have left in the image.

[bnnrcn]

Christina,after seeing a cropped version (it doesn't matter if it is a square crop or not),I think cropping doesn't work with this image..With the crop ,the swan stands out more but I completely agree with Donald that the image has lost the romanticism of the original.So I think it is best to leave it as it is

[dem]

I reposted a cropped version, and it sure looks like two different moments in time to me.

It's not. It cannot be. It is a reflection of the closed beak from two neighbouring waves. ~~~~~

[Brownbear]

Thank you everyone.

Donald, very nice and helpful to hear

John, no noise reduction, just an unsharp mask not erased from the branches but I didn't start from the original image as these are small sized. I will erase it on my next try.

Manfred... Thank you. I will try your suggestion which fits with Geoff's (thank you Geoff) along with Mike's suggestion as he always seems to know what works best.

Cropping. Too many suggestions to think about, so I will try a couple and then I guess I'm just going to have to put the image aside and look at it again later to decide which crop I like best. Part of the learning process.

[Brownbear]

Thank you. Truly appreciated that you took the time to explain this. Alas, I was hoping that it was something that could be!

It's not. It cannot be. It is a reflection of the closed beak from two neighbouring waves. ~~~~~

[Brownbear]

Following is a combination of Manfred's final suggestion incorporating Geoff's suggestion to crop a little bit off of the left hand side.



Mikes suggestion



I think I prefer the first crop because the quality of the image seems stronger and also because it is more of an overall scene.

Thank you to everyone for your advice. This has been very helpful to me in learning about compositions. I will have to think about my tree and branch.

Thank you.