Escape Project 52

[LenR]

Daniel, I like the misty, muted colors in both images. Nicely done.....

[Geoff F]

With the second image, I tend to agree with Antonio that a bit more space at the top would be an advantage

[escape]

I enhanced this effect by opting for a wider framing, maintaining the same overall atmosphere but allowing more of the surrounding beauty to be revealed. In doing so, I believe the sense of immersion and mystery becomes even stronger, inviting us to explore every detail of the landscape.

I like what you did. You opened it up and gave it some room to breathe. Thank you, Antonio, for your comment and edot.

[AntonioCorreia]

Thank you, Daniel, for your kind words.
Perhaps you could use a wide-angle lens to great advantage in these scenes and in other settings as well.

I must admit, I really appreciate wide-angles for the expansive view they offer and the effective framing they allow.
However, it's important to remember that perspective distortions can be quite dramatic, so caution is necessary when using them as you know.

Cheers !

[escape]

Week-14 -
Nature


I went for a hike along the banks of the Suwannee River this week, hoping to get a good shot. I managed to take three photos before my battery died. I swapped it out for the spare, but that one was dead, too. Oh well. It was still a great hike.
This shot was taken today in Gainesville, Florida.

[escape]

WEEK-15-
ZOOMINTOIT
Welcome to where I live when I’m in town—my corner of the garage. This is my little workspace, clutter and all. Photos, certificates, memories, and mess—it's all part of the charm.
I’m heading to the cabin today, where there’s no internet, so I had to get something up before going off-grid. I didn’t have anything ready, so… welcome to my corner of the garage.

[billtils]

Love it!

[AntonioCorreia]

Not much different from mine !
However, maybe mine is a bit better because I have the temple's guardian, who is always vigilant.

[escape]

Week -17 -
A Horse, of Course
Had to skip week 16 and jump into the current week of the year. I'm in NYC, and the weather has been cold and rainy, with few opportunities to take photos. Yesterday, the weather broke, and I shot this at a horse ranch on Long Island.

[AntonioCorreia]

lovely !

[escape]

lovely !

Thanks, Antonio. Bright white on the edge of a photo can be distracting, but I guess it depends. In this case, the white shutter is part of a secondary subject combined with the opening framing. The contrast with the dark interior works in framing the horse. This is just my personal critique.

[escape]

Week - 18 -
Black-bellied Whistling Duck

I took this photo early this morning from my porch here in North Florida. I first spotted this bird and its mate a few days ago, and since then, I’ve watched them come and go each morning. I shoot most of my photos with a basic kit lens, so this image required extreme cropping to bring the bird in close, but I was happy to capture the moment.

The bird is a Black-bellied Whistling duck, a striking and somewhat unusual duck known for nesting in tree cavities. They have a distinctive whistling call, long pink legs, and bright red bills. It’s rare to see ducks perched high up in trees, but these are one of the few species that do just that. Their bold markings and social nature make them a pleasure to watch.

[escape]

Sometimes I find it difficult to see my own images in an unbiased way. To me the image looks artificial. Like it was shot threw a window of a museum exhibit. Maybe because of its stillness and whatever the camera setting were when I took it. Spent the morning playing with the camera settings in hopes of taking a better picture of them next time. Yesterday I did not see them and thought I might have scared them away but this morning I saw one fly away.

[Cantab]

Sometimes I find it difficult to see my own images in an unbiased way. To me the image looks artificial. Like it was shot threw a window of a museum exhibit. Maybe because of its stillness and whatever the camera setting were when I took it. Spent the morning playing with the camera settings in hopes of taking a better picture of them next time. Yesterday I did not see them and thought I might have scared them away but this morning I saw one fly away.

My reaction to the photo is that you were fortunate to have got such a good shot -- not that it's a bird in a museum. I've seen whistling ducks listed in bird books but there are none up in my part of the world.

I know of at least one other duck that nests in trees, buffleheads. In my area they are winter ducks that I see most days on a nearby sheltered inlet of tidal water. And then in the spring they fly inland to nest in trees: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufflehead .

[Round Tuit]

Sometimes I find it difficult to see my own images in an unbiased way. To me the image looks artificial. Like it was shot threw a window of a museum exhibit. Maybe because of its stillness and whatever the camera setting were when I took it. Spent the morning playing with the camera settings in hopes of taking a better picture of them next time. Yesterday I did not see them and thought I might have scared them away but this morning I saw one fly away.

I agree with you that the duck looks artificial. I think that it is because there is no fine detail in the head,neck or feet of the bird; so it looks as if it were partially made of plastic.

On closer look, you have lost detail in many of the green leaves to the right of the bird. What kind of processing did you do other than cropping?

[escape]

My reaction to the photo is that you were fortunate to have got such a good shot -- not that it's a bird in a museum. I've seen whistling ducks listed in bird books but there are none up in my part of the world.

I know of at least one other duck that nests in trees, buffleheads. In my area they are winter ducks that I see most days on a nearby sheltered inlet of tidal water. And then in the spring they fly inland to nest in trees: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufflehead .

Thank you for your comment and link, Bruce. It was most appreciated.

[escape]

I agree with you that the duck looks artificial. I think that it is because there is no fine detail in the head,neck or feet of the bird; so it looks as if it were partially made of plastic.

On closer look, you have lost detail in many of the green leaves to the right of the bird. What kind of processing did you do other than cropping?

Thank you for taking the time to post your helpful comment. Before any processing, the images all looked pretty similar, so I don't think much changed afterward. I mainly hit an automatic correction button and left it at that.

I'm attaching the original, uncropped image so you can see what I was working with — the crop was pretty extreme, and the detail just wasn’t there to begin with. This was taken with a Lumix G9 with a 12-60 lens.

I'm thinking of getting a zoom lens to help capture better detail next time. Both ducks were here again this morning — I think they’re still working on building their nest, but that's just my guess. We’ll see how it goes!

Thanks again for your input.

Here’s the original shot — as you can see, it was a long reach!