I must confess, i am a little miffed at my score for my wildlife challenge result. i was very pleased with the picture, had a riotous time taking it and many others (to any Brits out there, strongly recommend going to colchester zoo, it's a wizz!) and enjoyed editting and submitting it. must confess, i was semi-expecting at least a 6+, or possibly for the first time ever, hoping for maybe breaking into the sevens.
now i agree, a 5.815 isn't a bad score - it's well above average for me and i should be happy. i would like to thank those that left comments (and the average of 7.625 from those comment-leaving lovelies), but would also like to request some advice to improve the shot.
it's not even the twos and threes i got that's bothering me - that's pretty much a given here and is to be expected. but all those middling fives...? was it really so uninspiring, with my obvious devotion to and obsession with penguins possibly clouding my judgement for what makes a good picture? or did too many people assume this was from a zoo, and not, say, taken during a scubadiving trip while staying with my uncle herbert in the Falkland Islands (i didn't, but i can't see anything particularly zoo-y about the shot for people to automatically think otherwise).
I scored you an 8 but didn't comment until now. Personally I like the composition. It's interesting and has some movement in it. The focus is a little soft, though. This is presumably because it was taken through thick glass and the penguins were moving pretty fast. Also quite visible is grain, especially on the white of the lower penguin's neck.
I appreciate that under the conditions you had it was quite an achievement to get such a great shot but voters don't think that way. The focal point of this shot is the lower penguin's head and beak and in the area particularly there is a lack of detail.
I ddin't get a chance to vote or comment on the Wildlife challenge. I've quickly looked through the thumbnails until I came to yours, 62nd wasn't it?
I think you were hard done by. Without taking anything away from other entrants, there were some were predicatable shots above yours.
The compositions and the sense of movement is great, it really says Wildlife to me. The only thing that I can think of that may have kept it down the table is the colour cast. I know that it seems to give the underwater sense but I think it does make it seem a bit dark and dull, in the colour sense I mean, not the subject or the life.
How about adjusting it and posting a colour corrected version for comparison? I realise it won't help the challenge but just for the sake of seeing how it looks with brighter more vibrant colours, if it can be done.
The focus is a little soft, though. This is presumably because it was taken through thick glass and the penguins were moving pretty fast. Also quite visible is grain, especially on the white of the lower penguin's neck.
The focal point of this shot is the lower penguin's head and beak and in the area particularly there is a lack of detail.
Hope that helps.
Indeed, these comments do help. thanks. You're right about the grain in certain areas - a high iso was the only was a could get them in shot, and i guess the pay off is a bit more grain than normal. tried neat imaging it, but probably not enough... the bit you mention about the focal point was interesting. naturally, due to the whoosh-click nature of the shot, i couldn't really aim at any point in particular -
techinically, how would i have got the top of the lower penguins head more in focus? is it a case of point the camera towards it, or am i right in thinking that a higher aperture would have affected the outcome more favourably?
again, thanks for your comments - defintely food for thought here.
Quite honestly I think you did rather well to get that shot at all. What's needed is more light on that nearer penguins head. Failing that you needed a wider aperture AND a faster shutter. I'm guessing you were at the limit of the camera's ISO range so really there's nothing more you could do.
As I said above I personally liked it a lot and even more so for the fact that I can see it was a challenging shooting situation.
I've only just replaced my S50 in the last couple of weeks. I still love that camera.
Personally I don’t think there is much you could do to improve your shot, I love the interaction between the two penguins and this shot really stood out for me when I had a look at the entries. The reasons for some of the lower votes maybe (as siggi said) it looks like a Zoo shot, the blueness of the water suggest that it was taken in a penguin pool to me. Also the penguins are not perfectly sharp, sadly shots that aren’t pin sharp rarely do well on DPC, despite any other merits of the photo.
I like it. Firstly, you did an excellent job of shooting through glass and water. I find it extremely difficult to get good shots when I attempt the same thing. Whereas it is a documentary type shot showing penguins I think it has more artistic merits than merely a photograph. The interaction between the penguins suggest a graceful dance, a ballet, and also shows a fun exchange of play. The bubbles add interest, an additional element, and a sense of place. The composition leads the eye nicely through the image from the upper right corner, around, and back up and out through the same area in a very circular loop. As to the colors, I like it, it reminds me of spearmint chewing gun, which compliments the cool artic waters. I personally dont feel distracted by the softness or the fact you cant see the eyes etc. When presented in such an artistic way 'perfection' does not need to be there in order to evoke a feeling from the viewer. As for the zoo thing, there were several high scoring zoo shots so it was possibly a combination of various factors.
I really liked this shot. I was one who scored some of the zoo/non-wild entries a little lower, but it REALLY depended on the mood of the picture, and exactly how unnatural the setting was. With this one, it *could* be in the wild, in that you can't see the glass and you can't see a bunch of obviously human-made devices/props/fences/cages/what have you. Some of the zoo photos just sort of made me sad, whereas this is a cute, playful capture that could very well be in a natural environment.
Jeez, I gave you a ten for those penguins. I'm really surprised that I had to actually search through all the pages for my tens...some of my favorite shots had great comments, but were still voted so low. I just don't get it. Oh, and I did not vote down for zoo shots simply because that IS wildlife in their recreated natural environment (to me)...I live in the city and was NOT about to go chasing rats in order to get an urban wildlife shot. No way, no how. Yuch.
Personally, I don't think you need to change anything. This is a wonderful shot. I feel that the slight grain and the softness add to a more natural feel. You really get a sense that it is cold, salty water...
I'd just like to leave a wee thank you note for all the nice encouraging comments after my slightly over-the-top rant, and all combined they have all alleviated my slight disappointment from the end result.
Also been given much food for thought on technical aspects, so ultimately my little whinge has been moderately educational too. so thanks again :)
Would just like to say that I gave the penguin shot an 8. I really liked the composition and the feeling of movement. They are gracefull creatures and I feel that you have caught that with your image. I truely thought this one would do better as well. But don't get discouraged. I think there is enough people right here in this thread verifying that it was a good image. Keep up the good work.
There is no Zoo in Iceland, sorry. Well one with domesticated animals only.
This was shot out in the wild, this elf like creature can be found in many places in Iceland.
yeh, i remember when that one got the singing job with the Sugacubes a few years ago... does the one you found squeak and gurgle non-sensically as well? ;)
Hey David - I liked your penguin shot. No doubt someone will come up with a very similar shot in a future challenge and then we will have the 'Red Telephone box' discussion all over again!!
