"Solitude" - a monochrome bird series - Installment 1

[FlyingSquirrel]

I present to you the first set of a new series, titled "Solitude." The focus of each image is a single bird on a perch, isolated on a white background. Part of my goal with the series (which I personally feel has been accomplished) is to have a sense of a "frozen moment in time" accompanied by a mood of silence which is amplified by the stark background.

I should not admit this, but the series was born from an exposure blunder. One of the images was shot against a bright white sky and was underexposed by several stops. Just before hitting the delete key on my computer, I decided to pull up the shadows in LR just for fun. Immediately I was emotionally impacted by the image, and had a vision for this series.

After the initial image described above materialized before me, I then set out to intentionally capture images of birds perched against a bright, plain background, to continue the effect for the rest of the series.

Processing included slight NR, though I actually preferred to have some noise remaining, then selective contrast adjustments, a few minor clone/removals, overall curves, vignette, addition of noise in the background, and finally, sharpening.

Full size viewing is recommended. C&C would be appreciated, and thank you for viewing.


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[Otavio]

Hi, Matt.

I like it a lot. It is an original idea, really conveying the sense of solitude. The compositions are very good! #1 stands out for me, as a great image.

Check #3, as it seems to me that you might have pushed the contrasts a little too high (not sure though...).

Thanks for sharing these very nice pictures!

[dkw]

Hi Matt,

I like them all a lot! But for some reason to me #2 and #3 convey your desired mood better than the first. To me the first somehow feels warmer than than the others, and in my mind I can see the whole tree full of birds singing. But that is just my personal feeling, and I can't really tell you why I get it. Perhaps it has something to do with the type of perch - the first looks like a branch which is part of a whole tree, but the other two seem more isolated.

Cheers,
Dan

[jprzybyla]

Interesting idea, nice work.

[jad]

It looks like you're having fun with these. Maybe experiment with adding a very slight tint to them.

[John 2]

An original thought and it works.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hi, Matt.

I like it a lot. It is an original idea, really conveying the sense of solitude. The compositions are very good! #1 stands out for me, as a great image.

Check #3, as it seems to me that you might have pushed the contrasts a little too high (not sure though...).

Thanks for sharing these very nice pictures!

Otavio, thank you for your comments! #1 is also my favorite. It is possible that the contrast is pretty extreme in #3 or even all of them in some spots. I tend to go with high contrast in my monochromes, usually pushing areas to pure white and pure black. May I ask, is it the histogram that you are looking at, or is there a specific area(s) in the image that you find visually too contrasty? I'd like to see what about #3 you think could be improved. Thank you for your help

[FlyingSquirrel]

Hi Matt,

I like them all a lot! But for some reason to me #2 and #3 convey your desired mood better than the first. To me the first somehow feels warmer than than the others, and in my mind I can see the whole tree full of birds singing. But that is just my personal feeling, and I can't really tell you why I get it. Perhaps it has something to do with the type of perch - the first looks like a branch which is part of a whole tree, but the other two seem more isolated.

Cheers,
Dan

Dan, thank you so much for your comment. That is extremely perceptive of you and your thought makes complete sense. I would never have noticed it. Gives me something to think about

[FlyingSquirrel]

Interesting idea, nice work.

Thank you Joe

[FlyingSquirrel]

It looks like you're having fun with these. Maybe experiment with adding a very slight tint to them.

Thanks for the suggestion, John. I've never tried adding tints or anything like that. I will look into the possibility!

[FlyingSquirrel]

An original thought and it works.

Thanks for the comment John, glad you like them.