Birds in a Reflective pool.

[joebranko]

Actually some are sitting on a mudflat, as the level of the lake ( to which this pond is connected) was low.

[pschlute]

Hi Joe, and happy new year to you.

I don't think the birds are doing you and favours here to be honest. You have potentially a nice reflection image, although the lighting is a bit flat. The birds just create a distraction to that in my mind. They are too small to stand out on their own, and are captured against a background of grey shades.

Compare to the birds in this thread The Exodus
The birds there are not dissimilar in size to yours, but are all separated and stand out uniformly against a blue sky/sun coloured clouds. They create a pattern against the background, whereas yours do not.

I have been in your position many times where I see a scene with my eyes that is a wonder of nature, but it just does not transcribe into a good photograph.

[Round Tuit]

Hi Joe,
I see this differently than Peter. To me the birds are integral to the picture but I find the reflection of the branches in the water distracting because they are rather soft. You might want to consider cropping the bottom to position the first row of birds about one quarter of the way up the picture. You would end up with a nicely layered photos with the water,the birds, the shore line and the trees creating a balanced progression.

André

[Manfred M]

Joe - the usual advice given to photographers is to not have the centre line of the image centered in the frame.

As we all know, there are always exceptions to those rules, but this does not appear to be one of them. I agree with Andre that the birds are an important part of the composition and need more prominence. I would do a significant crop off the bottom of the frame as well. I would also look at darkening the relatively bright sky and reflections in the water to give the birds the attention that they need.

[Wavelength]

i too feel the birds are not helping the image, since they lack distinction. Manfred's edit to bring down the shoreline to 1/3rd has helped the image to give a better distinction of birds too- sacrificing the reflection may not be a happy thing to happen though...

[Geoff F]

I tend to agree with the previous comments. There are simply too many birds there for them to have a real impact.

But, as an alternative to Manfred's crop I wonder about losing nearly a half from the left side and going to something like 4 x 5 ratio? That would retain the main elements (birds, trees and reflection)? Or maybe try a 5 x 4 ratio, with losing the left side, and also cropping the tree tops to retain their reflection?

[selig1656]

listen to the critics and than go back to revisit your intentions and adjust.

[joebranko]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Sorry it took in so long to respond but indecision on which way to go on this, coupled with an almost 24 hour internet shutdown slowed me down.
When I first saw this scene I was attracted to the birds , and, as I got closer I saw the reflections and decided to captured the scene.
In the past, whenever I took a picture with a reflection, I tried to keep the reflected image the same size as the object. I don't know if at this is a 'rule ' or not , but it is just something I've done which I think makes the composition better, in my opinion. However I am not married to that approach and will try reducing the size of said reflection an see how it looks. There are other crops recommended which I will try. I am seriously looking at the suggestion of a crop from the left. I am planning to try some changes either later tonight or tomorrow . Thanks again for all the input.

[Manfred M]

In the past, whenever I took a picture with a reflection, I tried to keep the reflected image the same size as the object. I don't know if at this is a 'rule ' or not , but it is just something I've done which I think makes the composition better, in my opinion.

There is definitely no "rule" here and a lot of people use your approach. There is also a view ("rule") that the "horizon line" should not run through the centre of the image and a lot of people go with that approach.

In my experience, your approach is more likely to succeed when the water is almost perfectly smooth and the water mirrors the scene perfectly. In this image, that doesn't happen. I find the the bright bottom edge is actually a distraction as are the reflected branches part way up. That is why I cropped it out in my version of your image.

[xpatUSA]

Actually some are sitting on a mudflat, as the level of the lake ( to which this pond is connected) was low.

Unfortunately, the posted image is 800x677px on my screen and the birds are on average about 8px wide by maybe 6px tall. In fit-to-screen mode e.g. 1418w x 1200h on my monitor, they become blocky which of course only gets worse as one zooms in. On that basis and as has been said, the birds are almost a poorly detailed distraction, perhaps best deleted and the image re-titled to "Reflections". As Joe said, that scene must have looked way better than the posted image.

[joebranko]

There is definitely no "rule" here and a lot of people use your approach. There is also a view ("rule") that the "horizon line" should not run through the centre of the image and a lot of people go with that approach.

In my experience, your approach is more likely to succeed when the water is almost perfectly smooth and the water mirrors the scene perfectly. In this image, that doesn't happen. I find the the bright bottom edge is actually a distraction as are the reflected branches part way up. That is why I cropped it out in my version of your image.

Thanks Manfred. These tips are certainly helpful in how to treat reflections.

[joebranko]

Some additional views using different crops on the shot.

#1: Cropped at bottom.



#2: Cropped on left



#3 : Cropped bottom top and left




#4: Cropped bottom and left


Of all the options I prefer option 4, as it does make the birds more prominent, while preserving the trees and reflections as much as I could.

[xpatUSA]

No. 12's birds look much better at almost double the width in px, Joe!

An idle and probably silly thought ...

With the birds so small individually in the frame, an interesting option might be to apply an elliptical lens simulation to a crop from the original capture such that the center birds at least would be considerably bigger and more detailed.

Of course that would kill the panoramic aspect and I can't imagine anybody liking it much ...

[joebranko]

Thanks Ted. An unusual lens for sure!

[xpatUSA]

Thanks Ted. An unusual lens for sure!

Indeed, Joe. One of the GIMP filters is an elliptical lens that works on a selection and you can change it's refractive index ...