Is the drake a distraction? (Page 2): Thanks for the comment...

clickety

Curmudgeon wrote:

I think the drake belongs. Sometimes a tight crop works but in this case he adds context to the picture

Thanks for the comment

clickety

CHG_CANON wrote:

This is a request of help, not a Photo Gallery sha... (show quote)

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. Without a sky or shoreline I didn’t even think about leveling until you mentioned it. I’ll try the 16x10 aspect as well to see how that works. As you can see there’s a case to be made for both birds, yet a closer crop of the hen and shadow is compelling also hence the original question.

clickety

R.G. wrote:

Make your own choice based on your own preferences. My personal opinion is that the shot captures a duck scene and the drake adds to it.

Thanks for your input

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

clickety wrote:

I usually tend to crop in (too?) tightly. In this photo I deliberately left the drake in the photo to convey the inference that she was dancing for him, which was my initial reaction to the show she had put on. Now upon rethinking, because I like the hen and her shadow so much, is the drake a necessary part of the image? Should I crop him out like another of hers posted in the Bird in flight, Birds in water section.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Near as I can tell, these are two Blue-Winged Teals. The female almost looks like a female mallard. But the male has a darker head and those crescent shaped white patches on either side of the beak and in front of the eyes. I recall seeing the male myself and you just can't miss seeing those white patches.

My vote is to keep both of them. And I don't think it needs leveling. Look at the male duck. It's head is straight up and not tilted as it would be in the image if it was tilted. In fact I tried it, and when leveling the ripples, the males head leans to the left and doesn't look level at all.

Bultaco Loc: Aiken, SC

DebAnn wrote:

Leave the drake in - she is performing for him.

clickety

JimH123 wrote:

Near as I can tell, these are two Blue-Winged Teal... (show quote)

Thank you that’s what my initial reaction was. Yes on the Blue Winged Teal, same hen in a different pose is posted in BIF-BOW section.

Sinewsworn Loc: Port Orchard, WA

clickety wrote:

I usually tend to crop in (too?) tightly. In this photo I deliberately left the drake in the photo to convey the inference that she was dancing for him, which was my initial reaction to the show she had put on. Now upon rethinking, because I like the hen and her shadow so much, is the drake a necessary part of the image? Should I crop him out like another of hers posted in the Bird in flight, Birds in water section.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.

Nice shot! If the duck is to be the focus of the image then crop out the drake.

clickety

Sinewsworn wrote:

Nice shot! If the duck is to be the focus of the image then crop out the drake.

Thank you for the comment. The hen makes a strong image, but the drake makes it a story which I saw as it played out. That memory biases my crop choices, so am I presenting an image or a story? That’s what I have to decide. If wildlife opportunities were static the choice could be made before, but when I shoot an interaction I am making the decision in post review.

Bubalola Loc: Big Apple, NY

clickety wrote:

I usually tend to crop in (too?) tightly. In this photo I deliberately left the drake in the photo to convey the inference that she was dancing for him, which was my initial reaction to the show she had put on. Now upon rethinking, because I like the hen and her shadow so much, is the drake a necessary part of the image? Should I crop him out like another of hers posted in the Bird in flight, Birds in water section.
All comments and suggestions are welcome.

I love the photo the way it is, Clickety, because it really tells the story!

clickety

Thank you.

mhbenton Loc: USA, Georgia

It tells a story with both birds, cropped closer would give it what I call the "National Geographic" look. I mean technically excellent but less artistic. If you are already cropped in some, you might look at a different ratio, 16:9 in Landscape and leveled to the center of the ripples the gal is making. The negative space on either side will make the two stand out a bit I think.

clickety

mhbenton wrote:

It tells a story with both birds, cropped closer would give it what I call the "National Geographic" look. I mean technically excellent but less artistic. If you are already cropped in some, you might look at a different ratio, 16:9 in Landscape and leveled to the center of the ripples the gal is making. The negative space on either side will make the two stand out a bit I think.

Thank you for the thoughtful response for me this was a lesson in intent vs outcome vs perception.