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Watercolour Chickadee for Bob Shannon


Watercolour Chickadee for Bob Shannon
Photo Information
Copyright: Francine Malo (NinaM) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 801 W: 3 N: 2100] (6596)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-11-22
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40 D, Canon 100-400mm IS USM
Exposure: f/5.6, 1/180 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Where They Really Live [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-11-23 8:51
Viewed: 768
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 18
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I want to dedicate this image to Bob Shannon who, from what I feel, is a Black Capped Chickadee lover. I know that this photo is not sharp or well exposed. My feeling for it though is immense as it looks to me like a watercolour but as strange as it may seem, like authentic real life as well. This is what my eyes saw. There are two points I would like to bring up.

The first one is that I always look at nature with awe, I will always be fascinated with the way the animal is one with its environment. When you look at this image, the bird is almost translucid, the grey tones of its wings drowned with the background. Most of the time, one finds out that the animals' colours are the same as its surrounding, the same way that in Europe you find that the old constructions of the villages or cities are the same colour as the soil surrounding it. Look at Paris and its soil. I don't know why but to me this is one of the most magnificent trait of nature and how life is all entertwined. Are we one?

The second point I would like to bring is the fact that where I live, in small mountains, I am always under trees or in shadow. Our little house is built under spruces, larches, firs, thuyas and maple trees, even an old apple tree, which do not leave much space to the sun. The thing is that I don't think there is bad light, it is the eye that sees that we have to change. Beauty is often a matter of culture and I think we can open up the eye to new beauty. This is my aim - for myself - when I take photos here, in St-Alphonse, around my house. The country I live in and the conditions I live in make it hard for me to get great shining light. Weather is often overcast, lots of clouds and, at this time of the year, water gets grey as iron, clouds get thick and grey like a pigeon and light, well... is also grey. I love that light in photos, it is so strong and harsh. I love it when the images get unsaturated like the weather. We, as photographers, can only be witnesses of all those changes and differences, bring to the world's eyes all those diverse conditions making it our world, one world. I am working and hoping to bring those bad conditions in my images to reflect where I live, as best a s possible, and it's not always a success!

So, let's come back to the beginning, I dedicate this photo to Bob Shannon, who seems to be a true lover of nature and all its beauty and intricacies.

Francine

Technical details:

ISO 1000
1/180 at f/5.6
Lens at 400mm
Through the window on a tripod
I lowered a bit the contrast level in Lightroom to give the photo more feeling of transparency.
I added some exposure, a little bit, to take away some of the strong grey effect
I sharpened a little bit
I also added "vibrance" (saturation) to get the orange of the bird
joey, eqshannon, peter_stoeckl, anel, warnzy has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To peter_stoeckl: How wonderful those butterflies!NinaM 3 12-01 08:40
To peter_stoeckl: Pretty good ethics!eqshannon 2 11-27 13:28
To lawbert: Your commentNinaM 1 11-24 20:11
To eqshannon: Mr. Shannon I am pleasedNinaM 1 11-24 19:53
To Maite: Appreciateeqshannon 1 11-24 19:47
To Maite: Your version looks great!NinaM 1 11-24 19:36
To anel: Des commentaires appréciésNinaM 1 11-24 19:32
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2001 W: 226 N: 6845] (24727)
  • [2007-11-23 11:02]

Lovely dedication to Bob.
The accompanying notes are exceptional!
I like the effect with some blur and a haze.
Very artistic.
Well done Francine,
Joe

Hello Francine
Having read your fantastic note I concur totally with your thoughts and sentiments..
On point two I love the way you describe where you live..it sounds awe inspiring...I live in not such an awe inspiring place but it is surrounded by fields and an old woodland hedge which blocks all the sun for any good photographic light except in high summer when the sun is high in the sky but this is only for a short period of the day..
As for your picture..yes it does have an artistic quality..and as such I like it a lot..but as just a suggestion with the fine photographic equipment you have I would do as you have done but use a cable release and let the shutter fire constantly to catch any birds at rest..which they do very little!!
and point three...Yes..to Bob
The best of Regards
Paul

:-)) Totalmente de acuerdo con tus explicaciones Francine. A veces hay fotografías mediocres que transmiten sentimientos y otras impresionantes por su técnica que te dejan frío. Un abrazo desde España , aquí casi siempre con mucha luz, aunque en mi última fotografía no la había ...

Josep Ignasi Tejedor

Not only did you capture it...but you captured it as I remember it being first shown to me. My dad took a picture much like this one. Now mind you dad was generally an accountant for the government, BUT as a boy growing up in old Indian country near Lake Erie, he learned first hand about nature on his own and later in school. This was the wonderful information that he and mom gave to me from the day I was born in 1945 and my mother remembered talking to me before I was born...
You have finally made me good to my promise to others..I just now asked my wife to give me the hand painted box my father did way back when....and you can see it by clicking here.

Bonjour Francine,

one of the basic properties of a photograph that everybody - everybody - can judge at once, is the sharpness of the image. In consequence, the basic reaction is: A blurred picture is a bad picture.

But, as with every rule, there are exceptions. In my humble opinion, your image is a rare example of such an exception.

Of course, there must be a good reason for a blurred picture to be ok. One reason is deliberate motion blur for the demonstration of fast movement. The other one is putting something deliberately out of reach into the distance - vaguely to be described as atmospheric.

The chickadee is out of reach and in quick motion. The drab colours of dim light is just what we see on a cold day like that in late autumn.

Your perfectly composed picture is very atmospheric and emotionally appealing in all its aspects. It is great. And a nice dedication to Bob, too.

With thanks, and best regards,
Peter

Hello Francine
I agree with Peter. This looks much like an exception to our rule, and I appreciate much the beauty of this wonderful capture. Nevertheless I made a little workshop to bring out the colors. I hope you don't mind it.
My compliments and best regards
Maite

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1731 W: 0 N: 3942] (15822)
  • [2007-11-24 5:16]
  • [+]

Bonjour Francine,
J'ai lu attentivement ton texte qui me semble bien intéressant. En effet la lumière est l'alpha et l'omega de la bonne image. Mais je dois dire qu'un ciel couvert met mieux en valeur les formes et les couleurs qu'un ciel trop clair. Le plus grand problème à résoudre pour le photographe étant le clair-obscur (dans les bocages p.ex).
Ton image est aussi intéressante. Sur ce site on aime bien ce qui est clair et net, mais un certain flou "artistique" est aussi de bienvenue, s'il a une certaine qualité, ce qui est le cas pour ton image. On pourrait discuter sur le sujet longuement..merci de ta contribution imtéressante
Anne

Hi Francine,

Although this isn't a technically perfect shot, it doesn't matter. It's a very effective photographer's shot, with lots and lots of interest. Everything about it is subdued, the colours, the light and even the movement. I really like it.

Kind regards,

Mike

  • Great 
  • EOSF1 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1381 W: 126 N: 5246] (23469)
  • [2007-11-26 9:07]

Bonjour Francine, oui l'effet est très joli, c'est très artistique ! Bien vu et bien fait ! Merci.

Mario

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