Motown meets Antarctica

I find this shot excellent. Other commentators seem to be seeking perfection. Although the four penguins are almost centered in the image, the rocks they're standing on form an oblique line, downsloping to the right, the same direction as their gaze, and so it all works very well visually, for me, rule of thirds notwithstanding. And I bear in mind that things like this happen quickly - the photographer doesn't necessarily have all day to compose a picture of what is a very dynamic situation. I like it, and think he did well.

very nice control of depth and focus. i enjoy the muted color range. one thing: it helps to be careful with nature to not project human characteristics onto other species....anthropomorphism. the danger being we don't respect the other species but only see it as an extension of ourselves. i say because of the 'motown' reference. nature often has nothing to do with humans, and humans seem to be often confused about how to respect nature, perhaps one of the reasons contributing to the tremendous killing off of huge numbers of species (extinction) throughout history, and even more so in recent history. 'Human exploitation is the primary reason penguins are endangered'

 

http://www.bagheera.com/inthewild/van_anim_penguin.htm

 

 

There are as many opinions out there as there are ways to crop,compose ,edit rebalance etc... a picture.This is what gives it it's character and feel, and conveys the photographer's particular vision and style.I think the original is just fine and the water in the backgroud with the snowcapped island adds contexte...tight cropping and color changes don't always help and sometimes hinder a photo.

 

Well done!!

I find the comments very interesting and informative.But, I'm confused about the intent of

the photographer, and the intent of some of the comments.

 

The pic was shot well enough to see and appreciate the comical formation of four penguins in Antarctica; it appears the photographer intended to document a specie of wild life in a very remote part of the world. Some, however, suggest the pic should go beyond this, and be more of an artistic statement.

 

To this forum: Is there a distinction between documentary, wild life, and fine arts photography?

And, since this PoW seems to be at least a very good 'snapshot', does it fit within these three

distinctions?

:-)

Love the shot. Great humor when combined with the title. Overall the image is a little flat. Here is my rendition with a little help from PS...

Depends on whose looking at the photo. As for this photo--Tom's complete folder-- I see all three. Out of 92,000 participants on this website, less than 1% of 'em could have brought this folder home. Other photos such as landscapes/nature (alot of my type), have to be extremely sharp, composed pleasingly, and exposed right to be called any of the three....

Tom's photo is so exotic to most citizens, I believe it's a fine art, wild life that documents the moment to where you remember it type photo. If this was my folder, there would be at least a half dozen photos hanging on the wall. All of which would be straight from the camera to the printer....no PS...

" Is there a distinction between documentary, wild life, and fine arts photography? "

 

Documentary: a picture that documents people - i.e releasing information - about a place, a culture, etc.

Wild life pix: a photographic representation of something alive in the wild... :-)

Fine arts: the blurest notion on Earth - since it contains the word " art " - the second blurest on Earth - and the word fine - which doubles the troubles we get from its neighbour... Let's assume that we all ROUGHLY agree about the meaning...

 

Is Tom's pix a documentary ? Yes, but not really... It doesn't bring much info - a bit still... We knew penguins existed before this, that's what I mean...

 

Is Tom's pix a wild life pix ? Obviously.

 

A fine art pix ? I guess it tries to be that as well, and succeeds partly in my opinion...

 

Finally, I would say that a great documentary pix of a wild life subject should be a fine art piece. That's what made Art Wolfe one of the best wild life photographers ever, and that's what made National Geographic so reputable and great... Artistic documentaries about wildlife are the real top of the genre...

This is a fun photo. While it may appear some-what grey, it certainly does not lack levity. Bravo.

I like it, but I think a few things might make it better.

 

1) Tighter framing. The background is distracting.

2) Maybe less DOF. That penguin in the background is distracting. But then again, this may not be possible with the lens etc. It's an iffy change.

3) Warmer tones on the feet. I think the feet are the key to this photo. It is very monochrome. Which is to be expected. But the feet are orange. Not to be expected. If you could warm up the feet a bit. Kind of make them stick out a bit more color wise I think that would be great.

Not intending to fan the flames of the high-art vs documentary debate, I'd like to point out what a critical role the title of a photograph plays in the "reading" of its meaning.

 

Had the title of the image been In unison, this image might have been a very illustrative image to show zoology students the particular adaptation penguins make of a common bird behavior of flocking. As such we might be more tempted to consider the image itself on its merits as wildlife photography seeking to document a behavior.

 

The fact that the title is what it is opens up humor and irony as integral paths for its appreciation in much the same way as Guernica creates a historical reference for the interpretation of Picassos vision, which is not really a part of his paintings composition. The title makes this image appealing to a wider audience than just zoology students. As a singularly un-creative photographer (hobbyist!) both in terms of my own compositions and their titles, I applaud Toms use of photographic tools and language to make this image meaningful and pleasant.

 

I really prefer the original, and if anything I might unsharpen a little, just to adjust the effect of scanning. I feel the "fifth" penguin, if in fact it is a penguin, is perfect. I think everyone that has manipulated this picture agrees with me because only one has "photoshopped" the "fifth" away. Its a beautiful photo and one I would be hard pressed to surpass.

I think the picture would have been nicer if the angle of the photographer was up not down. That is if you had been/gotten lower and angled the shot slightly up (or level)....

I really like this, my eye went straight to the penguins in front, the ones in focus.. the blury object in the background is not distracting at all.. the color of the birds and the rocks together are just outstanding, what a shot under any circumstances.. photoshop is not needed.

 

I love this photo. There is a humorous quality to it. I look for humor and drama in photos rather than just "technical purity."

This is really just a cute snapshot-no big deal.If anyone wants to see REAL photo's check out toms folder!!

Tom did you really get that quality & variety just on one trip?stunning stuff!

 

Every time I look at this, and some of your other penguin works, I can't help but chuckle. I've commented on others. You have done a great job with making this kinda lost and awkward group out of these equally awkward creatures.

Very good photo. Now let's see how it look like in a tropical country ;-) Link

This is a cute shot with obvious good timing and anticipation on the part of the photographer. I'd give a 9 on technique and originality.

 

In terms of composition, maybe a 3. Sorry, but having the birds centered makes it look like a grab shot taken at the zoo. The horizon at the top needs to go and we need to see more real estate at the bottom. I take it the birds are about to dive, but being stuck in the center makes it tough to tell which way the visual tension is going. Yet, trying to catch wildlife action with precise framing is often Monday morning 'quarter-backing' at the least.

 

 

Tom, having had access to Antartica obviously gives you a head start in Originality (although I'm surprised your ratings on O. are not even higher?). Apart from this unsolicited comment, my home is on the island state of Australia, i.e. Tasmania. The Antarctic is virtually on our doorstep, and for decades we have been privy the masses of films and photos from the Bottom of the World! Also, some time spent in Geology and Photography Departments of our local University gave me an even greater insight into the wonders "down under Down Under".Even so your folder is awe-inspiring to me. The photos are fresh and fabulous. I agree they should be framed and displayed - they're certainly good enough.

 

That said, I really prefer your original of this quartet - the distant "fluffy" fellow serves to give your shot a depth that otherwise may not be appreciated (this is one of your shots that captures the vastness of the place). Same applies to the white background - I wouldn't crop it at all - too much tinkering can sometimes lose the freshness and also lose the accuracy of the terrain (v. important in such a relatively unexplored part of our world I think). Only small comment is - are their feet as pink as that? My inclination would be to subdue the colouring a little, not enhance it. But you were actually there - and only you would know! The penguins we get on this island are not quite as colourful, but they fascinate us just as much.

 

Do you know that the women in the north of the island banded together to form a knitting circle

for - wait for it - penguin jumpers!! Sound silly? Not so! People around the world are now stock-piling these jumpers to help in the survival of victims of oil spill disasters. Yep, we're into our penguins down here.

 

 

 

You

definitely have a natural "eye" for this type of work. I'm going to check out our tourism site to see if anything they have is in the same class. I'll let you know if you're interested.

 

Thank you indeed for sharing such great images - your titles and personal comments about each shot are an added bonus.

Very nice image. It's quite refreshing to see some good animal photo, that is a nice change from the boring naked girl photos.

 

Just perfect!

Actually .... one of the best I've ever seen!

but I can't help thinking, "Gee, if only I had a bowling ball...." which is a joke, of course. Please, really, it's only a joke.... nice shot! That's what I call timing!