Skogafoss Puffin

Thanks for providing any insights or advice.

Superb shot...  Mike

This is beautiful Patrick! A great POV gives this a unique effect. Very nice!

Tim

Patrick it is a very beautiful image of contrasts; contrast of the colors and contrast of the scales of beautiful objects nature has provided. If not manipulated it is an excellent capture.

fantastic image compliments regards gerolamo

Skogafoss is a very popular waterfall, so using a long focal length angled upward was the best way to isolate the natural attractions. Humans are more ubiquitous than puffins at this spot, but the wait for a cooperative subject was surprisingly brief. Thanks very much for these comments!

Hi Patrick,

I like the composition, the frame and the colors of your photo. It seems you made an important post-prod job regarding the texture of feathers and the sharpness with your parameters (focal 120 mm and f/8). Is it right ?

Best regards.

Benoit

Hi Benoit, thanks very much for the careful appraisal. I did make a specific sharpening pass on just the bird, to help ensure his prominence despite his small size in the frame.Too much?

Patrick,

I really like your chosen POV looking down a bit on the Puffin and getting all that water action from the falls as the background!

Not only are the details of the Puffin very good but, I also like the clarity of the foliage of the outcropping where the Puffin is taking in the view!

 

Nice presentation with the black border also, otherwise the waterfall colors would blend in too much with PN's background colors.

 

Regards with cheers for the New Year!

Jim j.

Patrick, thanks for your answer. I can't answer directly to your question. The fact is : photo is an art and Art hasn't any Truth. If you want to create an effect with your photo (important DOF), you have perfectly realize it. Never mind if we like or dislike. If you want to realize a photo for National Geographic, that means Reality must be reality with a single focus, then the only sharp thing that we have to see is the bird, not the flowers, the grass in the foreground.

I like your photo because the bird seems to be a little bit "painted" in an artificial environment because of the sharpness of the foreground and background and the lack of bokeh. And for me, it's the most important thing : I like it.

I leave the opportunity to more professional photographers than me to answer your question.

Best regards.

Benoit. 

Thanks for so much feedback, Jim and Benoit. I guess it isn't obvious that the puffin's perch stretches upward from the ground, rather than outward toward the falls from front to back. The height shown here is a fairly sheer three feet - and the grassy facade of the outcropping is entirely within the focal range of this lens (EF 70-200mm f2.8L) at this aperture. The waterfall behind that is outside of sharpest focus, but since it was important for the fingers of falling water to remain recognizable, the exposure included a medium aperture and snappy shutter.

 

I really appreciate the discussion and am happy for everyone's feedback, from novices to professionals. Anyone can have an opinion and all are valuable to me! I'd be interested to hear whether anyone thinks contrast needs to be boosted under this overcast lighting?

Wonderful capture, Patrick ... The photo that I would like to get one day. Congrats & regards

Patrick,

In my opinion, . . . I think the contrast is fine where it's at. It looks natural to these old eyes!

 

Regards,

Jim j.

I agree, contrast is fine.

Benoit

Unique and fascinating composition! beautiful shot!

Best regards! Hanan

Great capture.