* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #795 / Revived #015 on 2023 07 12 *

A wonderful shot! The shape of that bird in flight is pretty incredible - it almost feels like some sort of symbol or letter on the dark background. I‘m starting to get your fascination with the dam and the birds - excellent work!

Got to agree with everyone else here - truly inspiring seeing what you were able to create with this shot. It takes a creative mind to come up with that and I feel like it works perfectly as intended!

I like the crop and the thinking behind it.

I'm very grateful for the interest and time you all have shared with me! I continue to learn and be inspired by your work, but most especially your feedback on everyone's photos (I read all of it!). I will definitely keep in mind the advice about magicians and their secrets 😁

I really like the colours with their reflections in this shot. Also the overlapping circles providing venn diagram like additive areas. Is it correct to refer to it as bokeh? It suggests a quiet, calm evening - taking in the sounds of the waterfront.

I was wondering if it was taken with a fisheye. The cues of container ribs are there but the illusion of a silo cone or similar overrides them. But then the ladder shadows cast doubt as what it actually is. I'm glad you explained it. I wonder if the software could make a circle at the top...

It‘s a wonderful shot and the colors and circles are beautiful! Seems like you got the distance to focus on and thus the bokeh bubbles sizes just right! Very well done.

It also reminded me: There‘s a long running thread on the mflenses forum (a very informative and great place for friends of manual lenses) about 'Completely out of focus images' meaning lots of interesting abstract photography with great potential to be an inspiration for others. I only ever created a handful of somewhat applicable shots like that, but if someone here has something interesting to show in terms of Out-of-focus photography, I would appreciate a thread like that here! (That is, if it sounds interesting to anyone else, I guess! 😅)

Hi Lou
I have gone through this week's posts several times but somehow I kept missing this one from you. Just spotted it.
Like minniev, I am familiar enough with your photographic haunts to have probably guessed what this is. There's enough information in the photo so that it becomes impressionistic of a harbour at night. You can feel that the bottom colours are reflections of those above. It is all stripped back to the basics. Identifying it for what it is becomes part of the viewing pleasure.
You could do a series of waterfront shots like this. I think they would look good grouped together.

I agree with your comments. Initially I found it a bit haunting because it looks so real - I actually skipped past it. But well worth going back and taking it in.

I feel like relating the events of this pic as it was more luck than thought out composition.
I got home later afternoon wanting to take my dog for a walk and nearly didn't bother to take the camera. There is a big mob of kangaroos (> 15) around here but they have really good hearing and are normally onto me while the cows are still chewing grass, even if the roos are twice as far away. Yesterday when most of them hopped away a few remained. So I walked towards them a bit more slowly until I was close enough to switch the camera on and zoom in. After a few shots I kept moving closer taking a few more. Finally she was the last there and seemed quite comfortable. The sun was dropping fast and provided the nice light. I didn't think too much of the pic but was captivated by the gentle look on her face. Glad you all like it.
Mike something has happened with the wallabies of late. I see them on the side of the road and slow down, hoping they won't dart in front of me as they sometimes do. It is like they have become used to the sound and just stay still or maybe hop off the right way. I am happy to see it. Better than hitting the skids and trying to dodge them. I have only ever hit one and fortunately it was ok... The roos of course are another story and can completely rearrange the front of one's car. But I don't see them on the roadside much.

Thank you, Bryan. That particular filter in Photoshop Elements has little to no control. However, I suspect that anyone with patience and ability with cloning, replacing bits, and blending components of composites could achieve what you suggest. It's an intriguing idea, but I'm not sure I'm experienced enough - or patient enough. I'll let you know 😁

Thanks Mike,

That day, I walked past this place on a long walk I take frequently along the shoreline in Oceanside. I intended to be back with the sun as low on the horizon as possible. These are old, decaying "vacation rentals" that are slowly giving way to some condo construction and hotels. I shudder to think what they're like on the inside, or that anyone actually rents them, but they do.

I was back at 4, and was balancing myself on the seawall setting up the shot. I thought the place was empty. The guy appeared suddenly from inside, set up the beach chair, and sat down, looking out to sea. No way! A tanned guy with sunglasses staring (squinting?) straight into the almost parallel rays of the setting California sun! Clint Eastwood couldn't have set up the shot better.

"Dear God, don't move," I thought. I got the shot.

Rich

REPLIES

I miss more events than I capture! Thanks!

I always appreciate and enjoy your edits, Andrew, they make me consider new options. I really like the way you brought out the water. The foremost block, though, I prefer to keep dark, in keeping with others in the set. Egrets give me such good contrast with the concrete stuff.

Thanks for sharing the reasoning behind your impressions, Linda, that helps me in considering options. And yeah, his neck is weird and Roel figured out why. That's one of the reasons I snapped it, I don't see this process clearly that often when the birds are moving.

Yup, he just swallowed a big bream and it is still flopping inside that neck which is creepy but interesting. They usually swallow the thing right where they are when they land with a catch. This is my first eat-and-run photo.

Always tough for me too. I keep virtual copies of many photos for that very reason!

Thanks Bryan. I never tire of them because they do something different every time I'm there. And yes, the birds do speak for themselves, but most folks don't hear them. My role in the dam project has been to give them a voice. We are making progress.

I am glad you saw that symbol because that's what I saw. His shape and line fit into the puzzle pieces of the rounded concrete forms.

It was fantastic to learn there is a fish inside the bird's neck! Also, now that you've described the geometry (would that be the correct word?) and fitting pieces of a puzzle together, I'm in absolute awe.

The white-ish sky suits the story better I think. I took a try at what I was thinking of, and it's very subtle so perhaps no one would notice if they didn't look closely, but I added a white-ish sky that has cloud detail and cobbled it in behind the bridges. Adobe sky replacement helped me with this.

Ha, I know for sure that is not an American red robin 😁

Have you ever shared your technique (camera, post...)? I'm sorry I can't recall if it has been discussed since I arrived.

In the version larger than what I think ya'll can see, the water the bird swallowed with the fish is trailing beneath him in a little waterfall of its own. Bream are flat roundish fish and you can see its shape. The birds always swallow their catch whole, and it's sometimes an agonizing-looking process especially if the fish is large Glad you found the symbol!