Robert DeCandido PhD

Deborah is my significant other - and while I am away on Nepal I cannot do everything - such as post photos here on photo.net. Deborah will occasionally do that for me - and she has given the photographer due credit...So what is the problem? There is none in my eyes. Thank You Deborah! We had no idea that the editors here at photo.net would see the photo and like it.

any comments regarding color/composition would be appreciated.

Great color; nice composition - and the man's crossed feet/legs say much. It is so difficult to make a fine color composition on the run as it were...east to make a photo with lots of colors - but you have a fine color composition with meaning. The folks in the photo would be proud. Best wishes, rdc/nyc

Shot at 1/2000 of a second///these raptors move fast. Manual Focus....

Hi,

 

Nice photo!

 

This is a female Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). This species can be found from western Europe east through SE Asia (including Borneo). It is a migrant from parts of Europe through the Middle East (to Africa), and probably from parts of Asia to southern Asia. I have photographed them in Israel and Borneo, and seen them in mainalnd Malaysia as well. It is a female because the lower mandible (beak) is partially orange/red. Males have all dark beaks.

 

Apologies, I cannot be of much help with the ID of the fish.

 

rdc/nyc

Hi,

 

I like this photo much...I know how difficult it is to make a multi-person photo "work" especially when everyone is doing there own thing, and not posing for the photog.

 

One suggestion: this might be better in b/w. The color is ok, and not a distraction. The yellow sign brings my eye to the back of the frame...but the sign itself (and what it says) may not warrant the use of color in the photo. (I do like the red "bomb" marks on several signs and the pink balloon. But overall this work better in b/w).

 

Was this photo from a NYC rally? Hope to see more rallies like this, soon.

Hello,

 

Nice shot of a raptor species we don't see often enough in the east, though a few can be seen each fall in migration, and a smaller number will overwinter here in NYC. (RL Hawks can also be found in Eurasia...).

 

What sex is the bird?

 

Aesthetically, great lighting, nice composition and the photo works as a color photo too.

 

Best Wishes from the east

You don't like the flame hairstyle and the arrow sideburns?

 

rdc

Comments...

Storefront in Ipoh, Malaysia. Photographed with Nikon FM3A and 28mm

(AIS) F2 Nikkor on Fuji Provia. Scanned with Polaroid 4000...

Photo taken in late Spring 2003 near Eilat, Israel with Nikon FM3A and

28mm F2 Nikkor (F2) on Fuji Provia 100. Scanned with Polaroid 4000...

Computer Science is such a wonderful field

 

rdc/nyc

The fish are mouth-brooders from one of the east African Lakes. By the look of the species, the fish are species of Cichlidae (African Cichlids) from Lake Malawi around the Cape Maclear area.

 

Hippos are common, dangerous; fish are extraordinary.

 

rdc

Hello,

 

Being a documentary photographer I always like to know where the photo was made...and since you seem to be a NYorker, I will ask: Was the photo taken in Central Park (Sheep Meadow)?

 

Robert DeCandido, a NYC native in Eilat, Israel for the time being

Hello,

 

Yes I agree with you that animals should never be mistreated. However, the folks here study migrant birds, and we are accustomed to handling many birds in a given day to place bands (rings in European parlance) on them; take certain measurememnts, and on occasion blood samples. We are scientists after all, and our way of caring about birds (and the environment as a whole) is to measure it as carefully as possible. We try and develop as accurate a picture of what is happening with individual birds as well as entire species....

 

Aesthetically the hand does not work in the photo, yes. See my comments about documentation vs. art. Many of the photos in this folder are here to document the great diversity of bird species that pass through Eilat, Israel on their way north to Europe or western Asia each spring. In all, there are about 5 photos from this portfolio that I think work as something beyond a document...I post these all of these photos to make a different group of people aware of the diversity and (dare I say it), beauty of birds.

 

BTW, I like the raptors (and the Shrikes) the best. I think the best photo in the folder is the male Quail though.

 

Robert DeCandido, PhD of New York City

Post-Doctoral Fellow

International Bird Research Centre in Eilat, Israel

Hello,

 

If the truth be told, all the birds you see here that were photographed in Eilat were held in the hand. The birds are trapped as part of an ongoing banding project that has revealed many things about the biology of migratory species that were previously unknown. The results are published in scientific journals...So to answer your question, the birds are not "captives" as individuals in a zoo would be. Rather they are trapped for a few minutes (usually less than 30 minutes) and then released. We scientists prefer to see them in the wild whenever possible.

Hello,

 

Yes this is indeed an Accipiter...see the scientific (Latin) name for the species, A. nisus. It is related to the N. American Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawks, as well as the Accipiter species both continents share: the Goshawk (A. gentilis). In Eurasia, the bird-eating hawks are known as Sparrowhawks, and the Kestrels (two species: the Common and the Lesser K.) are Kestrels (and not Sparrowhawks as in N.A.).

 

If you think that is confusing, try sorting out the 38 migratory raptor species of Europe and western Asia, along with different ages, races, and sex differences in plumages. It is daunting, but that is one of the things I (try to) do. Bill Clark and Reuven Yosef are the best folks I know at the game...

 

rdc

Apologies all...I am trying to Photoshop these on a laptop LCD monitor; it is not calibrated via a Colorvision Spyder or any other calibration device as I have on my home (NYC) CRT monitor. Remember, I am out in the Negev Desert near the Red Sea trying to do pro quality work...I like trying but I am a biologist too so my time is somewhat compromised between art photography (or documentary photography) and being a biologist/ecologist.

 

Robert DeCandido

I like the silhouettes much and have to agree with the others that without the boat, the photo is much stronger. AND, this photo is wonderful in b/w and probably would not work in color.

 

rdc/nyc/25Dec02

Used no flash; did not disturb owl...all natural light

Hello Tim,

 

I like your b/w photos very much especially the fellow with the tatoos. I think you caught him quite well in the photo with his arms outstretched.

 

I am less good at judging the many attractive women in your portfolio. I like those photos because the women are lovely; yet, if I was rating them without regarding to how attractive the model is, I would like some and not others...just my weakness I suppose.

 

The b/w shots stand out in my mind. I do like a couple of color photos where the colors work together (for example the still life with the shadows cutting across the objects).

I like very much that you are returning to one place to photograph. You can really talk a lot about a place by returning to it again and again. Great!

Yes, to echo what others have written: the light/dark elements in junxtaposition and the way my eye is led to the back of the photo are very good. I for one still like fine sunsets, and this is indeed one. Would a warming filter have helped add a bit more color to the photo? Just a suggestion, but not critical...

 

 

Hello,

 

The Brooklyn BRidge looking back toward Manhattan. I know this spot very well since I led tours there for several years...Peregrine Falcons nest on this bridge. Up until 1999, they nested under the left arch (go back and find the "cutout" under the left/south arch. (I think it is the walkers and not bikers side.) Anyway, beginning in 2000, the Peregrines were nesting on the Brooklyn side arch (again south side; the pedestrian side definitely). Don't know about peregrines? Send an email with your address and I will send an info flyer that I wrote about NYC Peregrine Falcons and what to look for when/where.

 

As for the photo: on my screen it is a bit dark; the whites need a bit more snap. But overall, I alwys enjoy NYC landscapes, especially with abstract geometrical designs in them. I like that the sky is dark (orange filter?)...

 

Is this a pre- 9/11 or post 9/11 photo? The World Trade Towers would have been just to the left. The Woolworth Building should be somewhere in the distance, center left.

 

Let me know about the peregrines. If you visit this area regularly, you would like knowing about them and watching them too.

 

Robert DeCandido

rdcny@earthlink.net

The name/location are on the photo since (a) I do not want the image pirated; and (b) the images were originally done for different site/purpose and I did not feel like re-doing the image again. I simply used what was already completed. I rather like using the rest of my time to go out and look for new images...

 

So yes, in an ideal world there would be no text in my photos. On the other hand, I have heard that the folks here that view images have a wonderfully keen sense of vision and imagination. Perhaps it might not be difficult to envision the photo without text?