boy - i didn't think this would win, but thought it would place much higher. i mean it's very close up, unless it has been majorly cropped.
the subtle blues in the BG are very nice. the exposure must have been a tough one to figure - so much dark area. add to that a fleeting subject - and you have a difficult scene to capture.
i disagee with skiprow - in that in this case - being a raven - the looking out of the frame goes right along with the stereotypical feelings ravens evoke. framing it in this way makes the viewer uneasy - as does the subject. i voted a 9...
curious the lens, and distance to subject for this.
I like the risque composition of this shot, obviously deliberate. Background certainly adds a degree of ominous-ness (i know not a word) to this already dark and brooding creature. Your rendering captures the darkness of the crow and his reputation for being a kind of 'bad guy'.
I also like the texture on his beak and light in his eye. By the way how can you tell the male from female crow?
this had all the potential in the world, but i don't think this entry is going to fare to well. compositionally, there the subject is looking away from the negative space, which draws the eye away from all that space, which makes it basically useless. so, to start with, you could crop off the left 40% of the image and it would be stronger. the lighting is just a tad too strong, which is giving the image an artificial feel, almost as if this was a stuffed bird. the dof is a bit too shallow, making the transition from the brightly lit feathers into the oof ones a bit disconcerting. and, to top it off, even though you have achieved bokeh (in that you have a background that does enhance and compliment your subject), i imagine that it is not the type of bokeh most voters are looking for. at this point, let me say that i hope this helps, and i wish you good luck!
I don't think this meets the challenge. 3.
Back for second thoughts; maybe it does? The background's apparently not in focus, but does it add anyting at all to the image (anything that a blank sheet of blackish paper wouldn't have?).
Hell, who knows? Better make it a 5.
Reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe. Black subjects are very hard to capture well - there is a fine line between getting enough contrast in the image without blowing out any highlights. I think you have done this efectively, although I find your focus a touch soft. The bokeh you have produced is sufficient to isolate the subject from the BG, even though there are no tell-tale artifacts to suggest that this bokeh isn't just a solid BG, slightly OOF. Still I really like it and is one of my top picks.
Great title. My husband would go ape over this because he loves ravens. I like the contrast between the sharp focus bright feathered bird and the blurred background.
This is really wonderful!
I hadn't been voting up to this point, but this inspired me to vote.
Although you might lose points for not fitting the challenge rules to a tee... I really like it!
I love the title and the image is just plain eerie.
I gave you a 10.
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