As I began to critique this picture, the lyrics to Sarah McLachlan’s song “Blackbird” starting streaming through my head (“Take these wings and learn to fly”). On the other hand, I of course thought of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” and the iconic image of all the crows perching on the playground set.
The shutter speed the photographer used to capture this picture is just one element that is working really well. Using a pretty low shutter speed has allowed for a lovely blurred effect on both the tree branches moving in the wind and the bird flying through the sky. As a viewer, I immediately envisioned the bird’s wings flapping and fluttering in the air, propelling it through the sky. There are fantastic lines in the bird’s wings as well.
The majority of elements are working really well in this work but if I had to improve one thing, I would consider just slightly reworking the way this work is framed by cropping another inch and a half off the bottom of this picture and adding a little more room (if possible) on the right side of the picture. Right now, there is nice balance between the branches on the left and the bird on the right but because the bird is so close the right edge, he feels a little trapped, so adding more sky to right of the bird would enhance the story this picture works to communicate.
(Great job Jess! If you can remember, what settings did you use to achieve this effect?)
I was definitely using a slower shutter speed; my camera has a "Shutter Speed Priority" where you set the speed, and it picks the aperture... and I think it was set at 1/25.
Alli -- Just as a follow up -- this is the one that I am submitting for the show, and I took for suggestions for cropping and putting more room on the right.
At first I wanted to name this image “Free Bird” but I thought that might be too cliché and wouldn’t do this work justice, so after more consideration, I have chosen “Red”. I picked this name because there is a small red line of color on the black bird’s back that my eye zeroed in on right away. Despite all of the fantastic movement and flow this image captures, I always come back to that red speckle. For me, this work tells the story of a bird that has just left a tree, maybe fleeing because it was scared by movement down below or from the wind itself hitting the tree branches where it was perched. Or, the bird is fleeing to go on to another tree or to find some food. Either way, the bird is in motion and freely flying through the blue sky.
ReplyDeleteAs I began to critique this picture, the lyrics to Sarah McLachlan’s song “Blackbird” starting streaming through my head (“Take these wings and learn to fly”). On the other hand, I of course thought of Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds” and the iconic image of all the crows perching on the playground set.
The shutter speed the photographer used to capture this picture is just one element that is working really well. Using a pretty low shutter speed has allowed for a lovely blurred effect on both the tree branches moving in the wind and the bird flying through the sky. As a viewer, I immediately envisioned the bird’s wings flapping and fluttering in the air, propelling it through the sky. There are fantastic lines in the bird’s wings as well.
The majority of elements are working really well in this work but if I had to improve one thing, I would consider just slightly reworking the way this work is framed by cropping another inch and a half off the bottom of this picture and adding a little more room (if possible) on the right side of the picture. Right now, there is nice balance between the branches on the left and the bird on the right but because the bird is so close the right edge, he feels a little trapped, so adding more sky to right of the bird would enhance the story this picture works to communicate.
(Great job Jess! If you can remember, what settings did you use to achieve this effect?)
Love this shot.
ReplyDeleteAlli - great comment on the cropping, and I think I can easily replicate some more sky on the right of the bird. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI was definitely using a slower shutter speed; my camera has a "Shutter Speed Priority" where you set the speed, and it picks the aperture... and I think it was set at 1/25.
ReplyDeleteAlli -- Just as a follow up -- this is the one that I am submitting for the show, and I took for suggestions for cropping and putting more room on the right.
ReplyDeleteIt looks AWESOME - thanks!