|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/7/2003 9:09:54 PM
Jim, this is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
|
Photo By: Jim F
(K:8859)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/7/2003 8:19:54 PM
Great shot Joe. Birds in flight are a very difficult image to capture correctly. Looks like you have done a nice job. Good lighting, especially for a belly shot. You also have them well positioned with the frame, good work.
|
| Photo By: Joe McCary
(K:3235)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/7/2003 8:17:17 PM
Superb shot Jim. I really like the diagonal composition of the butterfly. I have been trying for some time to get a shot of this species. It seems around here they never rest and spread their wings. They are always feeding and flapping, never sit still. You have given me hope, thanks.
|
| Photo By: Jim F
(K:8859)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/7/2003 7:13:39 PM
You sure got a bunch of great shots from the magic tree. This one is no exception. The colors just look so natural. Those waxwings will be coming south for the winter, but I never see them feeding at low levels. Mostly feed on the berries of the hackberry tree which are large trees. I see them flying around in flocks of about 10-20 birds and are always 30-40 feet up in the air. I guess I will just have to be satisfied looking at yours.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/2/2003 8:04:07 PM
Another nice shot of these Waxwings. I like the blue background on this one, contrast nicely with the colors of the bird. But like I stated on the other shot, that was going to be a tough act to follow. That's what I hate about those perfect shots, difficult to improve on them. But this is still a stand alone great shot.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/2/2003 8:00:07 PM
Jim, nice shot. I wish he would have been facing you, but hey, we take what we can sometimes. Is this your first sighting of the young wolves. Hope to see more of these guys if you can locate them again.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/1/2003 8:39:41 PM
Good clarity on this one Alan. I also like the contrast between the warm colors of the butterfly and the coldness of the gray cement. By the way this is a Viceroy Butterfly, not a Monarch as suggested by one critiquer. Just in case you didn't know the species.
|
| Photo By: Alan Orr
(K:9671)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/1/2003 8:32:21 PM
Nice scene Alan. You have good details in the foreground with excellent water motion. If there was more water on the right that could have been included, I think that would have helped the composition a little. About the water movement (blurring), for the best effect I have found that 1/2 second or slower is best. If you try and freeze the water, as one critiquer suggested, that would ruin the effects of running water.
|
| Photo By: Alan Orr
(K:9671)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/1/2003 8:20:26 PM
Jim, nice out of camera image. What were your camera settings. Color and clarity look damn good for no PS enhancements. That plugin Don used is very impressive and he didn't have the original image to work with. I assume that's a plugin for PhotoShop, I use Corel.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/1/2003 7:33:47 PM
Bob, no reflectors were used, just good ambient light. I shoot all my macros during the first and last hour of light or anytime during cloudy days. Never use a reflector and rarely use a flash.
|
| Photo By: Ronnie Gaubert
(K:3700)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
8/1/2003 6:35:18 PM
Another good one Bob. You have captured a nice array of colors and the rays of sunlight just puts the finishing touches on this beautiful scene. Perfect timing is the key to successful sunset/sunrises. Also making the time and effort to be there when the light gets perfect is also a huge factor. Keep up the great work.
|
| Photo By: Bob Whorton
(K:2740)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/30/2003 7:23:42 PM
Jim, the background sure looks like a blue wall. I'm glad you said that it was the sky. Great shot with the berry in his beak. The light looks a little brighter than on your last few shots. Sharpness and color looks good. You have been selecting some tough shots with these small birds. I have done a little of that, but man it's hard to get close enough and have a good light. Most of the time they are in the shadows, at least down here in the jungles of Louisiana. Keep up the good work.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/30/2003 7:09:25 PM
Jim, how did you manage to focus on the Heron flying away from you. Were you on manual focus? You had fairly good results considering the dificulty of this shot.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/30/2003 7:02:43 PM
Hello Jim, I was away for the weekend, just getting enough time for some viewing. This one is very nice. Like that you were able to capture him feeding and also with a good light. I like the dark background, allows the bird to stand out nicely. I'm glad that 300 is working so good for you.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/28/2003 6:12:58 PM
Another nice shot of this Finch, Jim. Auto focus, what is that!!!!!! Wish his head would have been facing towards the camera. Other than that, this image has superb saturation and colors, had to be a great light at that time. This is also a good exhibition of a wild bird feeding in his natural environment. I have never seen any bird feeding on thistles, just bees and butterflies. I also have to give you credit on a perfect background on this one.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/28/2003 5:51:44 PM
Sweet image Jim. I really like the composition and the great separation of the main subject from the background. Tough exposure for the limited dynamic range of our digital cameras. Black and white feathers in one image, been there done that. Appears you had some decent lighting for this one. I also would like to compliment you on capturing an image of a wild bird in its natural environment. Most bird shots are done at feeder, with set up perches.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/23/2003 8:41:21 PM
Hey Jim, great colors in this shot. That flower is really beautiful, I assume it's a wild flower. We have plenty of wild flowers down here, but not like this one. Butterfly is a good addition. I also like the great background, no noise and very soft. I have been playing around with the 80-200mm for macros lately, but the 300mm is sharper and has better contrast. Other than landscapes, the 300 hasn't been off my camera, great lense.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/22/2003 8:14:10 PM
Nice capture Bill. You have good eye-level composition on this one. Also like the clarity and that red eye. I have many images of the Black Crowned Night Heron and always try to get that beautiful eye good and sharp. Wish you could have had a better background, but sometime you have to take what nature has given you.
|
| Photo By: Bill Ciavarra
(K:10216)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/22/2003 6:13:32 PM
Alex, there was no purpose for the Grad ND filter. I was earlier shooting images over the lake and used that filter to pick up some detail in the foreground. After leaving the lake I walked about 1/4 mile in a waist high grass field to get in position for this shot. I did not bring my camera bag and didn't want to remove the ND filter(didn't have anywhere to put it). From experience it doesn't hurt anything to leave it on. The 81b and early pre-sunup light is where the color came from. I did boost (only slightly) the saturation levels, maybe 10%. I usually set my D100 tone to normal or low contrast; I do the post image contrast adjustments myself in Corel Photo-Paint 10.
|
| Photo By: Ronnie Gaubert
(K:3700)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/22/2003 5:45:43 PM
Bob, I like this one. Never seen this perspective on a Lotus before. I believe what makes this shot is the superb clarity of the flower's center. Very different but immensely appealing.
|
| Photo By: Bob Tomerlin
(K:5460)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/21/2003 5:06:09 PM
Pete, I believe you have captured every color of the spectrum in this one shot. Colors seem to be very accurate and brilliant. I agree about the child and the bird having very similar poses, amazing. I do find that post in the lower left corner detracts from this beautiful image, but only slightly. Wish I could offer some help on how to remove it but sometimes you just have to live with certain aspects of an image. Especially if you can't reshoot on another day.
|
| Photo By: Pete Nicholls
(K:633)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/20/2003 8:43:38 PM
Congradulations Jim, finally got him. Maybe next time it will be late afternoon, perfect light (remember, light, light, light) and he will have a critter in his mouth with a perfect background. That is what keeps us going, the chance at that perfect image. By the way, is that a honey bee on his front shoulder, just to the right of his nose.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/20/2003 8:37:22 AM
Nice shot Jim. Good clarity and color on this one. I especially like the illumination, good evenly distributed light without any shadows. I would have liked to have seen this shot with a lower camera perspective. Eye level images have greater visual appeal. But to get this one you would have had to be lying on the ground. Difficulty, that is what I like about shooting in the field; The more difficult, the more rewarding when you get it right, Ronnie G.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/17/2003 9:15:07 PM
Superb image Felipe. You have captured everything possible in this one, great color, waves, action and reflection. The only slight improvement that I could suggest is maybe include a little more of the shoreline (right side) in the image. Looks like the great contours of the water line is cut off just a little short. By the way you commented on my honey bee shot a few days back and asked if I used the Kenko extension tube set. That is excactly the ones I have, total of I think 68mm. Works great on my D100 and has a good tight fit, excellent set.
|
| Photo By: Felipe Rodríguez
(K:9200)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/17/2003 7:51:18 PM
Much better Chad. As the other image, excellent clarity, color and reflection. Good that you didn't include too much sky. A clear blue sky, not that it's ugly, but mostly uninteresting. If clouds are present or you can get some type of subject matter (tree, etc.) in the image, then plenty of sky is OK, as it then become background not main subject. Anyway this is just an opinion of an amatuer photographer as yourself, good luck.
|
| Photo By: CHAD CARPENTER
(K:6)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/16/2003 8:02:06 PM
Alan, this is really a beautiful scene. The softness of the water flow is excellent, as well as the reflection. The rocks on the right frames this image nicely, but I think the limb on the left is hurting the composition. Don't know the situation you were in, maybe unavoidable.
|
| Photo By: Alan Orr
(K:9671)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/16/2003 6:24:50 PM
Don't know what to tell you Jim except, wonderful. About being a little too close to get him entirely in the frame, been there done that. If there is a fault with a fixed lens telephoto, that is it. I think in this situation I would have cropped more off the top and done sort of a head shot and showed a little more of the grass in the foreground. Anyway that always a tough call when shooting in the field. It's easy to come back and look at an image on the computer and say what should have been done. In most cases instinct takes over and you do what feels best at the moment.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/16/2003 6:16:06 PM
Don't get much better Jim. As usual the same high standards you have set for yourself. The seperation between subject and background is really great on this one. Actually everything is perfect, can't find any faults, well like before, could have had a nice big rack on top. By the way, the spider picture I posted, what I didn't state was that they don't mature until October. Probably will be close to 5" from tip to tip.
|
| Photo By: Jim Christensen
(K:18843)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/15/2003 6:55:27 PM
Micky, good job of isolating this particular stem. The backlight was an excellent choice in this shot. Clarity looks good as well as the composition. Strange looking leaves on this plant, where is it native to.
|
| Photo By: micky waby
(K:9141)
|
|
|
Critique By:
Ronnie Gaubert (K:3700)
7/15/2003 6:50:22 PM
Hello Elizabeth, you have used good imagination with this one. The twisting of the stems really draws attention to the image. You have also captured good highlights on the stems and petals. The plain white background works perfectly with this setup, excellent work.
|
| Photo By: Elizabeth Miller
(K:2766)
|
|
