So I've obviously done a lot of egret/GBH splash shots. I absolutely adore doing them. I liked this one a lot, but I wanted more, so I played with b&w. Wasn't quite happy with it, so went high contrast. There were a lot of sticks and weeds, etc, in the background, and I started darkening them or cloning them out, but I stopped when I realized, between the weeds that looked a little like cracks, and the splash, it looked like he was trying to break through ice. I debated putting it in a challenge when I took it, and putting it in for a free study, but I just didn't have enough faith in it. So it will be interesting to see what happens with it here.
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Cannot pretend that I did not guess the photographer even if we are presented here often with birds of all kinds. I am always amazed of what it takes to get a shot like this, all steps that are foreign to me or, let's say would be excruciating hard if not impossible for me: be in the right spot, carry heavy equipment, wait quietly rain or shine, take endless shots....after which there is the magic of processing, not too little, not too much. And then one is faced with the stern competition of the National Geographic. I like a lot the nod to Herr Rorschach. An idea would have been to turn the image vertically as in Breaking the Mirror. I much appreciate it anyway
Hmm. I just read Mariuca's comment in the juried results thread and I hadn't even considered rotating this image. I just tried that (creating a crik in my neck - LOL) and it IS an interesting consideration!
Coming back around and viewing some of this challenge. For me the water in this seems like clear glass (in a good way). I get the ice reference also, but especially the area near the beak ... looks shattered. Good choice in post considerations and application.
sometimes black and white can change stunning reality capture into a different kind of stunning, something scarier. Breaking indeed. There is something a little off about this that does intrigue me.
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