Tomi Kelley
March 2025 - Blackbird Moonrise
About the Image(s)
Canon7D Mark II, EF 100-400mm IS II
400mm, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 1600
I participated in a photography workshop at a local wildlife refuge several years ago outside of Sacramento, CA. Strangely, right before Covid in February of 2020. We were photographing migrating birds all afternoon and moved along to look for some night herons. We were also fortunate to have a rising full moon that evening. As I was moving along an edge of reeds, I noticed a blackbird landing nearby. As I moved further, I saw the full moon as a possible back drop. I’ve always liked this image. My question is, how much of the other reeds/lines, would you leave or take out?
5 comments posted
Tomi the composition has very strong visual impact with the contrast of the dark bird against the softly glowing sun meanwhile, the blurred background isolates the subject nicely. However, two things stand out, 1 - the subject lacks detail, which I think could help the image and 2 -, the random lines add an artistic feel but also draw the viewer's eye. Nonetheless, I love the mood you created, and that's special! I never discount the effect of mood in a photography - most creative. Personally I love the moody, almost poetic feel to the image, evoking solitude or the end of the day. Posted: 03/14/2025 15:29:07
I really like the colors and the effect. The bird is placed perfectly in the frame. You have a good photographic eye to have seen this. I think that the reed to the lower right of the bird is very good, as it points to the bird. I would crop off the right side to get rid of the 2 reeds there. That would make more of a square image, which I think is fine because the bird and moon are the center of attention and belong in the center. Posted: 03/15/2025 12:33:05
Love the atmosphere here. I think the background triangle on the right echoes the one on which the bird is perched. I would remove those 2 small triangles to the left, though, as they are rather harsh and angular compared to the rest of the image. I would also consider removing that whole darker 'stripe' on the left and leave the area 'clean' on that side. But lovely shot. Posted: 03/20/2025 19:24:16
I can see why you like the image! There is a wonderful black against the moon and the colors are all within the black to white range. It does seem a bit noisy. I would use topaz Photo Ai to get rid of that. (It seems better than photoShop Moise reduction.). I think it works with the reds as it is. I also might try to make the bird's eye a bit more visible by lightening it. Posted: 03/21/2025 03:18:50
Lovely image Tomi. The moon is just at the right spot to highlight the bird. Moon is not too bright and bathes the whole image in a soft light. I agree with suggestions from Tom and Judith in terms of removal of some of the twigs and reeds. You could also remove some of the sensor spots in the image (there are at least two prominent ones). These take away from the image especially if you are using this to participate in a salon. Barbara, I tried lightening the bird's eye a bit but was not too successful. Perhaps if you can suggest a workflow so I could also learn? Thank you. Posted: 03/21/2025 03:50:45