Water reflections? Has to be Jay.
This creature placidly stood by as I clicked away. I would like to tender these three images of the stately bird in the spirit of comparison, soliciting your judgments of good better and best.
Number One:
Number Two:
Or Number Three:
Jay,
How fascinating. I like the bird best on #1 for its straggly tail feathers. The reflections and currents are marvelous in all three pics.
Birgit:
The bird – and I think it some sort of heron – scarcely moved but for a tilt of the head. I moved somewhat, and the water supplied the rest. I see number one as having the best formal qualities, depending how you might define such things in this context. In number three the heron appears to have shifted its foot and created a ripple effect that rises from the bottom edge of the image, and gives a nice counter movement to the downward flow of the tail feathers. The crook of the neck is in rhythm with the curvatures of the reflections and that portion of the body seems to be in a blended relationship to its backdrop. It’s as though two things are very much the same. I would have to vote for three as presenting a visually entangling quality that I find hypnotic.
Jay,
Three is special with the circular currents and the glare of the glassy reflections on the upper right. At first, the crook of the neck made me feel uncomfortable as if the head did not belong on the neck. But now that I have gotten used to the weirdness of the neck, I too find three enthralling.
Birgit:
Another thing that I just noticed is the striated nature of the reflections caused by the palm trees above. Their fronds create a sort of brush stroke effect.
Depends, as always, on what ‘best” means. If I were looking for a dramatic shot of the bird for an illustration, than I think #1 since it has the clearest delineation between the bird as subject and the background. In 2 and 3 the reflections around the head and the light cast across the body (especially in #3), start to make the bird and the background merge into one, wonderfully dynamic, pattern.
(per wikipedia, that might be a great blue heron. audubon is less emphatic)
Jay,
If you ask for what’s “best”, that seems to imply a basis for comparison that is not merely subjective. In which case I offer that #1 excels in technical terms, as better using the full range of values available (which results, among other things, in the bird being more distinct from the background than in #2), while not being so high contrast that the highlights are “blown” to featureless areas of white, as in #3.
As for which I prefer, that’s also #1–more for the water than the bird. But #3 is #2 by my ranking.
Melanie:
I think that great blue may be correct. I’m so used to seeing these birds at a distance that an up-close encounter is confusing. I agree on number one. The head is well delineated with a good open eye. My only concern is the complication presented by the angular reflections at bottom left – they’re eye catching to the detriment of the overall composition.
Steve:
These are actually bad photos in that the camera was accidentally on a priority setting and not on automatic. The sun was so intrusive down there that I often couldn’t see the screen for the glare. Many a mishap ensued. In this case I believe the camera was at a high shutter speed which might account for the sharp reflections. But please – I’m way out of my depth here as I have succumbed to the “just get the shot and clean it up in Photoshop.” attitude, and have little knowledge anymore of settings etc.
Jay,
I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek in pointing out technical issues, which may or may not be of aesthetic interest. Conventional “defects” can be very effective; in particular, I often deliberately over-expose.
Regarding the eye-attracting reflections bottom-left on #1: you could easily soften these using Photoshop, if desired. But I like that the eye goes there first, and later notes the bird, making it an interesting discovery, rather than an obvious-at-a-glance subject.
Jay,
The striations within the reflections are much appreciated.
I have come to enjoy best looking at pic3 because of its drama. The lovely and predictable circular currents are confronted by the glassy craziness at the upper right. No wonder, Mr. Heron is looking for help to the left.
Another species and this blog could have been titled “Three Cranes In A Fountain”. But I am happy to forgo a bad pun – which I have made anyway, albeit wistfully – for a good subject in our heron.
Birgit:
Palms can lose their appeal as the novelty wears off, but they do make for good silhouettes and, as we find it, decent reflections. Winslow Homer made much of them, however, in his watercolors.
Speaking of where herons look, we are reminded that they make a living peering through and beyond the surfaces and reflections that we find so enjoyable. I should imagine that our friend may have been looking askance at my pointing and posturing.
Steve:
The reflections have all the solidity of subject matter yet are evanescent and never to return as such. But remove enough energy from the water and one can see the same thing for extended periods of time. But then the variability may still be there but reduced to a finer scale.
Not sure about which is the best one, but to me they work as a group. Maybe hang all three of them side by side, and experiment w/ the arrangement.
David:
Sort of create a pecking order….
More like peeking order
Late comment; just found this great website.
Asking which is best is hard, they all have different things going for them:
#1, the bird is most obvious, and the reflections are awesomely crazy, especially the way they echo the curve of the bird’s neck.
#2, I love the way the bird’s head and beak parallel the ripples in the water.
#3, the curved ripples at the bottom make a nice contrast to the (slightly) calmer water above, and the awkward foreshortening of the bird’s neck adds interest.
I think my favorite is #1 though.
Aside: Yes it’s a great blue heron; there are some that hang out at a nearby park where I take my dog. Thinking of them as only feeding on fish and frogs, I wondered why they were at this park, as there is no water. It gave me a whole new perspective on herons when I saw them hunt the gophers!
Diane:
Pleased to meet you.
would have never guessed. Googled a gopher gobbling heron. I’ve seen them catch fish close up, but not furry mammals.
The polls never close at A&P, but a preliminary survey shows heron #1 to be the projected winner.
#1 for sure is my favorite, the head and eye are very clear. Love the water reflection. You’re a lucky duck to get those shots.
Pat:
A brief snoop reveals that you have a heightened sensitivity to avian motifs. The better to judge as you do. I my case maybe a lucky dork.
Glad you commented as it indicates that there is some life left in this hibernating site.