richard_lowery

--nice capture ---knowing these wary raptors, I am surprised he stayed put long enough for you to get a shot. The 'donut' ring of strewn feathers

of the prey is typical of the accipters, as they

deplume bird prey before consuming.

--existing light, Mavica 75 Sony, 3.5 " Floppy disc in BMP,portrait

mode.

===nice cropping, ----love the eye almost hidden

in the hair!!

--give us some names for these beauties!! Looks

like a 'Blue Morphus' ? As I noted in the e-mail,

try some half open wing angle shots to display the top and bottom surfaces of the wings!

--I like the color balance and the unusual view from above!! Nice !!!

---auto focus frightens wary birds as lens nosily moves in and out

trying for correct focus. >>>> Go to manual for faster, less noisy

and almost motionless focusing. Sigma 170-500mm w/1.4 Tx adjustment

range is very small for fine focus. Zx-7 Pntx.Fuji 800 Film

--1936 Restored Buick. Smooth, flowing lines all over this auto.

True test of digital camera and scanner to duplicate the deep maroon

color.

-----strong sidelighting from sun filled in with fill flash through

dbl. paned window with no glare?

--unusual pose is result of the 'stretching' manuever in birds known as "warping". They extend

wing and leg of one side. Nice catch, Derek.

--nice work, Dean. I always thought haybales were

photogenic but could never get them arranged as nicely as you have done here. The plastic 'wrap' makes them appear a little less than natural, but you take what you get. ;-)

---with the mention of this being a trained falconry bird,

does the leather leg straps (jesses) become too much of a distraction?

After a few months , they don't seem to bother the bird any.!;-)

--nice catch Jim, ---but the thumbnail gives one the impression the dog is but an extension of the

broken tree!! Curosity made me look further to explain a log with fuzzy tail? ;-)

---besides orange, its a 53 Chevy!!!

--classic composition, Edward, and I like the unusual color combo of pink and green!!

-auto exposure called for flash, which I considered worthless

at distance of almost 20', but the heavy overcast lighting late

in the day got some light on subject . The eyes of this species

is evidently highly reflective. With the dark branch and 'evil eye',

I decided not to correct for 'red eye, ---leaving the bird with

and evil and foreboding look. Whata ya think??

---the frustrations of a nature photographer!!! Agreed, when they 'cup' their wings just prior to landing approach, they are generally very low to the ground. I have same problems with ducks!!

--re: previous comment: Not sloppy flying, ---they 'backpedal' their wings to reduce speed and essentially 'stall' just prior to landfall.!!

--mixed feeling from this photo. Desolation?

But curiousity about vehicle (a 1947-48) 3/4 ton

Chevrolet) makes me look again!!

--nice composition---dogwoods? Looks too digital on my moniter.??

--??Alexi, this is a compelling composition. I look again and again trying to determine exact sizes of objects/shadows. You play well with strong geometric patterns. And your portfolio shows other naturalist trends with the "Heavenly Church" entry. The pattern of tracks from autos

in the snow was rather interesting as well. (More

Geometric forms);-))

--exquisitely beautiful, Alexy!! Horosho!! ;-)

--nice capture, Dennis. What a rainbow of colors--and this one flies!!

---unique,!! At first I thought it was time lapse or mutiple exposure. Your timing was perfect for the compsition, or was it luck??

--nice job Mike, ---and to think, there is a name for each of those 'lines'. !!!!

---nice capture, but the bkgd is so dark, it is difficult to determine distal ends of wings!!