The Shadow Of My Smile

[Coastal Flyer]

The last shot from the Zoo. This is a secretary bird so called for the quills that depict the once common writing instrument of secretaries.

CF

[Overbeyond]

This is simple in its originality and really creative and stands head and shoulders above the other zoo shots. The pebble dash background has a grand colour and bird and shadow look great against it. The diagonal of the bird as it enters the frame does it for me. And a lovely title to boot.
Tom

[Coastal Flyer]

Tom,

Thanks very much for the kind words. I hesitated submitting this shot deciding not to include it in the original three. But, after looking at it all day I thought, "what the heck, what is the worst that can happen?" I appreciate your comments and the positive feedback.

CF

[Trevor Ash]

You've got a good eye here. It's definetely an original scene with the inclusion and emphasis on the shadow.

For me personally, the human structure in the background is very unsettling to me given such a "wild" creature of nature. But to be honest I've never been a fan of zoo shots for that very reason so I'm already pre-disposed to that opinion.

Thanks for sharing.

[readingr]

CF,

This is lovely and as the others have said probably unique.

I really like the way the bird is sitting there with its shadow and the colours and texture of the wall behind it. I also like the composition of the shadow and the bird itself as if its watching its shadow ready to pounce on it.

Nicley captured.

Roger

[Coastal Flyer]

Roger,

Thanks very much for the comment. I appreciate it.

CF

[starriderrick]

This one really wins out. The stage right entrance is super.The BG color, texture is stunning as is the razor sharp shadow, detail.
Well done.!
Warmest regards for a great year ahead :O)
Rick

[CLKunst]

CF~

This is an excellent example of why it pays off to get up and out with the camera early in the morning. Too often my children encourage me to be lazy and I stay home and take pictures of them instead. Critique-wise I agree with the others. Very well seen and a solid job on the exposure. I am sure you would get similar nods showing this around in the bird forum. I like your crop, it delivers a simple and uncluttered composition. Was there an obstruction or something that made you decide to crop it like this?

[drg]

Nice catch. Good catchy title.

I'm with Cindy, was there a special reason for this crop? The balance might be improved in the photo if the amount of the bird shown and the amount of the shadow are closer in proportion.

Good eye to spot how well the birds colors play against his habitat background.

Happy New Year!

[Coastal Flyer]

Cindy/Rick/drg:

Thanks for the comments, I appreciate it very much. Actually, this shot is not cropped at all. This is the way I took it. As I have learned from Loupey in the Nature forum, perhaps I should have cropped it to provide more balance. My thought was that the bird was beautiful, with great color and fine texture in its features. The hook of the shot is the shadow, of course. But I thought the relationship between the bird and the shadow was the size of the bird. But, again, Loupey showed me that a crop improves this shot and wish I had realized that before submitting. But, that is what this is all about, becoming a better photographer.

Again, thanks. Have a Happy New Year.

CF

[gahspidy]

Very good catch,CF. As some others stated, the crop feels a bit awkward but the shadow is the hook as you say. the other elements like the SouthWestern feel textured bg, the great exposure and detail of the bird makes this a fine shot. Good work.

[Coastal Flyer]

Gary,

Thanks so much for the comments. I had a good day at the Zoo and appreciate all the feedback I have received on this shot. Hope you had a great holiday. Thanks again for taking the time to offer comments.

CF

[Seb]

Now that picture strikes my fancy. What a light! As I previously said, I am not into wildlife photography and one of the reason is that I rarely see images that really stand out but this one does as far as I am concerned. I am a bit distracted by the thing (a trunk?) on which the bird is sitting. I have tried a square crop and found that it worked quite well even if a good portion of the shadow is lost. Just some thoughts.

thanks for sharing this one, that's a beautiful photograph.

Seb

[Coastal Flyer]

Seb,

Thanks so very much for the positive feedback. That means a lot coming from you as I really admire your work. I also posted this shot in the Nature forum and Loupey gave some great suggetions including a crop that really improves the image.

Thanks again, hope you had a great holiday season.

CF

[Didache]

Definitely my favourite of the zoo shots - it's the shadow. Also, although you can't really tell from a monitor, I suspect that this is razor sharp - important for bird photos to retain the feather detail. This is one of those photos that makes me slightly jealous!

Cheers
Mike

[Coastal Flyer]

Mike,

Thanks very much for the kind words. I tried to get the image razor sharp and the print I made seems to retain the definition of the feathers. Thanks again.

CF

[dese]

This is an awsome photo, I love the 'attitude' of the bird

[Coastal Flyer]

Dese,

Thanks very much for the comment. I appreciate it very much.

CF