A Koi

[chrisnesss]

This photo was taken this past Saturday in a butterfly museum. I used a 40mm-150mm Olympus lens the whole time I was there and am pretty pleased with the results. But I would like your opinions on this photo. Quite honestly I am a bit back and forth whether I like it.

Thanks in advance.

[daq7]

Actually I think it is not bad, but I don't like the dirty look of the water surface.. I am not sure black would be the very best option, but I think it would look better than the rather disheveled surface that is there. The fish itself is a nice shape, and the composition of it is fine. Mabye some blown highlights on the head?

[chrisnesss]

Ok Yeah I can go along with that. :-)

[daq7]

Actually I think maybe just some darkening around the fish itself. Leave the texture in the water elsewhere.

[daq7]

Sorry, a question: Did you use a polarizing filter on this?

[chrisnesss]

Actually I took it off before I went inside. I hadn't planned on taking pictures of the fish-until I saw them.

[armando_m]

the texture of the tail is awesome

really like how the fish starts on the left bottom corner and end at the top right

I agree with dag7, a bit to bright in the head, and perhaps a bit of sharpening, but I don't know if that was lost when the image was uploaded here.

[chrisnesss]

Thank you Armando. And yes, there was some detail lost when I converted the image to be uploaded here.

[daq7]

I think I may have undersold my appreciation of this shot. the tail of the fish here makes doing whatever you have to do to finish this worth the price.

Unless you think you can find equally beautifully betailed fish somewhere more scenic and try again.

That is unlikely, so the deliquescent shape of this fish's tail should be put into a final form.

[chrisnesss]

I think I may have undersold my appreciation of this shot. the tail of the fish here makes doing whatever you have to do to finish this worth the price.

Unless you think you can find equally beautifully betailed fish somewhere more scenic and try again.

That is unlikely, so the deliquescent shape of this fish's tail should be put into a final form.

Right now I am working on another editing of this shot. Trying to clean up the water a bit, however toning down the highlights ruins the glow of the fish.

[Greg McCary]

I like the composition and the lighting on the fish looks ok to me. I also think the water is fine on the right side. The dirty water at least gives it some detail. I think if you cloud clone the reflection on the left side of the frame it would help.

[daq7]

Yeah, maybe only very selectively take out the stuff in the water. I agree that much of it helps the photo, but with all of it, it kind of just looks like dirty water to me. But I keep koi and have a deep appreciation for the beauty of the fish. No, not in that way.

Anyway...

[Shebang]

Nice composition and interesting subject. The dirty water doesn't really bother me, but if you could clean it up just a bit right in front of the head of the fish, it would be better. If I could do it (which I can't), I would clone? the dirty water from the sides and back of the fish to replace the smoky looking water.

[chrisnesss]

Ok so far I have done two other versions of this photo. I cleaned the water in one and it looks to fake. Much of the ripple details are gone and it looks painted, The other I cloned some of the cloudy details and placed them in other spots of the photo, and turned the highlights down a tiny bit. That left me with very boring textures on the fish and just looked to flat.

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

[daq7]

You say looks painted as if that is a bad thing. I usually prefer that. But I am a heretic.

[chrisnesss]

You say looks painted as if that is a bad thing. I usually prefer that. But I am a heretic.

Don't get me wrong, some photos I have processed look surreal, and that is the way my taste runs. But with this one, the feel I am trying to convey is realistic. In this shot I was able to capture a creature of nature in such wonderful form, I would like to keep the photo as close as possible to what I actually witnessed.

[daq7]

yeah. i get that. I lost about four koi that size a couple years ago to disease. it is very hard to bury a fish whose scales are the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. it is really hard to describe the beauty of these fish very close up even when dead. their scales are metallic and luminescent.

[kisu]

I like it a lot and the shape of the Koi is great but would agree that the 'smoky' water to the left of the image detracts from the overall composition somewhat.

[chrisnesss]

Thank you kisu.