I truly love this image. Never mind the base aesthetics which appeal to me—the use of grainy, lo-fi processing that hints at an era of "found" moments and casually grabbed exposures that are accidentally profound. Let's talk instead about the way that even if this was 100% an accidental exposure—which it honestly could have been—its curation and digitally realized presentation demonstrate the artist's attunement to things which the casual eye might otherwise ignore if the bird's face and body were in perfect rule-of-thirds composition within the frame. What I see here is an invitation to contemplate the story that precedes this moment. The negative space is a blank canvas on which I'm allowed to project my own idea of what came in the moments before the shutter exposed this scene—and to imagine the possibilities of what is happening outside the frame to provoke the sudden flight. Above and beyond all of that, I find in this composition an interrogation of the conventions that define what makes an image "pretty" and a gentle suggestion that perhaps the backside of a pigeon is equally as worthy of consideration as its frontside.
thank you for the amazing and thoughtful feedback my friend, I really appreciate it and am going to let this sit and marinate for a bit
i struggle with not making everything perfect in my photos .. show the catch light in the eyes .. make sure the ‘horizon’ is horizontal .. keep the important elements in focus .. etc etc etc ..
so when i see something like this where the imperfections become the main story .. i find myself wishing i could embrace those imperfections in my own photos ..
this is cute and funny .. and of course there’s a story behind it .. did the photographer feel gipped because that silly bird walked out of their shot .. or did the photographer see its potential .. i love your editing and how the longer i look at this the more i like it .. :)
I first thought that I saw this bird before, still running like a busy mother hen, impossible to be captured in one shot. A clip of a flip book which create the illusion of animation when flipped rapidly. I like the sepia tone as if in the frantic movement of the bird the dust got into our eyes.
First of all – pigeon! I adore photographs of pigeons. It’s a thing – can’t really explain it. Not just any pigeon, though - this one is most definitely on a mission and can’t be bothered to stay in the frame. To me, it’s a lovely, light-hearted snippet of life. I really like how the processing lends itself to the “je ne sais quoi” feel of this, too. ‘Tis a great example of how an “out-of-balance” photograph can be perfectly balanced after all.
I truly love this image. Never mind the base aesthetics which appeal to me—the use of grainy, lo-fi processing that hints at an era of "found" moments and casually grabbed exposures that are accidentally profound. Let's talk instead about the way that even if this was 100% an accidental exposure—which it honestly could have been—its curation and digitally realized presentation demonstrate the artist's attunement to things which the casual eye might otherwise ignore if the bird's face and body were in perfect rule-of-thirds composition within the frame. What I see here is an invitation to contemplate the story that precedes this moment. The negative space is a blank canvas on which I'm allowed to project my own idea of what came in the moments before the shutter exposed this scene—and to imagine the possibilities of what is happening outside the frame to provoke the sudden flight. Above and beyond all of that, I find in this composition an interrogation of the conventions that define what makes an image "pretty" and a gentle suggestion that perhaps the backside of a pigeon is equally as worthy of consideration as its frontside.
Tremendously funny photograph. Makes me think of Henri Cartier-Bresson cursing his camera for being too slow. The cropping decision has transformed this from being something completely mundane into something that provokes feeling.
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