Long shot/close up of two baby Pacific Great Blue Herons sitting in their nest. They are about a month old. Used my C-5 spotting scope and some of the zoom on the camera. The distance is somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 to 350 feet.
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I like the way the young herons are "puffing up" to make them appear larger to discourage potential prey...the background is exquisite . Very well done.(10)
One thing I've realized this challenge, is that slapping a yellow border on something definately does not make it National Geographic. The focus here is way too soft, and the shot is really grainy. What bothers me most though, is the fact that the large leaf in the bottom right is partially semi-focussed, and partially unrecognizable.
It is a good angle on the birds, and the closeness is great for the front cover. Wish you hadn't clipped the beak with the border though.
the yellow detracts big time - I suppose you were going for the national geographic look, but as a stand alone image, the yellow border draws attention away from the yellow eyes and beak which should be the focal point. You have done a nice job of picking up that yelow in the leaves benind while the orange of the beak is picked up by the feathers. Get rid of the border and you have a strong photo.
I like this and think it suits the mag, the only thing that bothers me is whether or not there would be room for the title. Good work all the same though, and a 7 for me.
It's a good idea -- even though numerous others have tried the National Geographic theme this week. My criticism would be that the shot is a bit out of focus, and the yellow you chose might be a teeny bit harsh compared to the one they actually use in the magazine.
Nice! I could definitely see this as a National Geographic cover. very nicely done! How much did you crop in for this photo? One thing to look at is that your yellow doesn't quite look right for NG. I'm not taking off for that though. Just being nitpicky. Do you know what kind of birds these are? good job
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