Red Winged Blackbird

Critiques welcome.

A pesar del negro se entreve esa mirada.

Saludos.

Hi Tony. I noticed while scrolling through your portfolio that a lot of your wildlife shots put the subject in the center of the frame, which after a while looks kind of like a catalogue of different types of birds and less artistic. I think your composition would be improved with a bit more off-center subjects and perhaps including some of the surrounding environment where it looks good.

Hi Jennifer,

 

A lot has been written about how to compose a picture, but a good picture usually comes down to the intent of the artist. There's no question that a lot of my photography is documentary in nature since I am strongly interested in conservation and the study of individual species. In this case my subject is often a bird and it's immediate surroundings - perhaps a mother goose and her goslings. In focussing on the bird, the eye of the bird is of prime importance. Usually my placement of this approximately follows the rule of thirds and the line of the bird's body is often related to a corner-to-corner diagonal. One should of course avoid a purely mechanical procedure - after all I want to convey a message. If possible, I want the bird to be engaged with me - like the red winged blackbird above. I consider his dusky face the focus of the picture. A better photograph of the red winged blackbird was posted later in this series. In that case I was pleased with the symmetry of the bird's body and the reed he was hanging on - they together formed an X shape that lined up with the diagonals of the crop. In that case the bird gave me an almost perfect pose, looking over his shoulder. What do you think?

 

Tony