Even more winter

[Katy Noelle]

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I was sick and not supposed to be out taking photos but....the lilac hedge was covered in gorgeous ice. (I mean, what would you do?) I stuck to the edge of the bushes, near the driveway but just felt like all of my shots were kind of awkward. Maybe, it's because a lot of them read from right to left. Could that be? (Is there a photographical equivalent to "two left feet"?)

Then, all of the chickadees kept coming into the hedge sort of above me - hanging out. It's like they were looking over my shoulder - curious about what I was doing so long there. It was so funny. I only have the 60mm and they were just out of range to get a clearer photo. Is a photo of a bird "valid" if you can't see their eyes? Is the bird lost in the hedge?

C&C please!

[MiniChris]

Try laying on your back and shooting upward....or get a ladder and shoot downward. What I have seen in this winter series is a tendency to reshoot the same thing, at the same angle, in the same light. They are nice shots and evoke those spine chills we get when looking at cold stuff...but I find that after a fashion, they all become the same shot.

I think I can relate to what you are trying to get to...that point where the ice is crsytal clear, the background indifferent and the foreground crisp and sharp...I've been struggling with that in water reflections for a long time...and it is almost obsesssive to keep trying. However, I am going to suggest you step back a piece, wait for nightfall or mid-day and shoot from a whole different perspective, completely different f/stop aperture combinations and see if perhaps if the problem in capture is not in the equipment or technique, but in the time and angle...it's just a thought and probably as much a reflection of the things confusing me as much as it is an observation of your journey...which I have enjoyed immensely. You really do have a wonderful talent.