This week’s image was submitted by Karen Tate (what you see on the left is just a crop for the front page – please see Karen’s original image below). Karen Tate is an intermediate photographer based in Feasterville, PA, USA.
Karen mentions that this image resulted from an assignment she had given herself (a great way to propel your photography forward by the way) and that the image was captured at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Karen says:
“I wanted to focus on the flamingos’ “human” expressions and body language. I’m wondering if it was a mistake to crop at the knee joints, which I know is generally a no-no, but I liked the angled composition of the 2 animals together, and including the entire body of the dominant subject in my opinion negated the “humanistic” effect.”
The image was captured with a Nikon D300 and a 18-200mm stabilized lens with 1.7x teleconverter at f/4.5 at 1/3200 second, ISO 800 and using fill-flash via SB600.
When I first look at this image the first thing that comes to my mind is concerning the visual aesthetic. I see an almost painterly effect in the feathers of the bird on the left. It almost looks like there is a soft glow to this image and I’m wondering if the involvement of fill-flash has contributed to this effect. Visually it’s certainly very pleasing to my eyes. I have circled this effect in my ‘notes’ image shown further below.
Secondly the lighting and the very clean, dark background gives this image a simple and elegant appearance. Karen intentionally shot the image like this and states:
“I wanted a darkened background because this wasn’t meant to be an environmental piece.”
So in my view Karen definitely achieved the look she wanted with great success.
"Flamingos' Human Thoughts" © Karen Tate.
The dark background focuses the viewer’s attention to the graceful flamingos without any other distractions and the image becomes about the birds’ expressions just as Karen intended.
Technically and visually Karen has succeeded in her execution of this image. It is without a doubt a very well-crafted image.
The exposure is excellent. The eye of the bird on the left is in perfect sharp focus. Colour rendition of the flamingos is both rich and beautiful and contrasts beautifully with the black bacground.
To Crop or Not To Crop
Artistically Karen has cropped this image to a square format. Karen also wonders about the crop at the knee joints.
Cropping can often lead to (heated) discussions amongst photographers. My opion on severely cropping is that if this is how you saw the picture in your mind’s eye when you looked through the viewfinder, then it is fine to go ahead and crop. In this case you should definitely go with your vision and crop accordingly.
However if you come back home and look at your rectangular picture and find out ‘ahhh hang on, this looks much better in the square format’ well then I think it’s sloppy work and indicates lack of intention on the part of the photographer. In other words the image was not thought all the way through to the end at the time of capture.
I’m not saying it’s wrong, and that you shouldn’t crop after the fact even if it wasn’t your original intention or vision at the time of capture. To me, ultimately, it’s still all about the image and what works and what doesn’t work.
However I would encourage any photographer to always think about the final format for their image at the time of capture. This ensures intention and will almost always lead to a well-crafted image (and importantly also more personal satisfaction).
Look at your subject and the scene in front of you through your viewfinder and ask yourself if it works in the rectangular format. If not, think about what format works (square, panoramic, four-thirds etc.) and visualize how you would crop it and then capture the information you need to fit the format that works.
Anyway, back to Karen’s crop.
I think the square crop works here. In terms of the elements within the frame, the necks of the flamingos are basically equidisant to the edge of the frame (as indicated by my red arrows below). This works well in terms of composition.
As for the crop at the knee joints I can appreciate Karen’s concern. However I agree that this is one of those small compromises one sometimes has to make in order to achieve a certain effect. In this case the cropping at the knee joints brings us in much closer to the faces and necks of these beautiful flamingos. The result is a more intimate portrait than if Karen had included the full length of the legs. The intimacy of the shot would have been lost without the crop, or at least reduced, and the shot would not have had the same impact.
Moreover, the way the light falls (or has been worked) this image becomes about the faces, necks and feathers of these birds and the legs have been left in shadow and this helps detract attention from the somewhat severe crop.
Composition
As mentioned I like how Karen has arranged the birds within the frame and I already mentioned how the necks are placed nicely equidisant to the edge of the frame (as indicated by my red arrows below).
There is also a very nice implied diagonal dynamic to this image (as indicated by my diagonal red line below). The shape and alignment of the neck of the flamingo on the left, along with the fact that the bird on the left has its head high and the bird on the right has its head down, helps create this diagonal dynamic.
Of course the beautiful S-shape of a flamingo’s neck makes for some very nice curves which are naturally attractive as well.
Crop, texture and Composition. Image by Karen Tate.
Conclusion
I think Karen has come away with a very beautiful image and it seems to me to be an image she anticipated. An image she had seen in her minds eye before heading out to the local Zoo to create it. This is probably one of the best feelings any photographer can experience and as such this image is already succesful on a personal level for Karen in my opinion.
However the image is also visually pleasing for the viewer to look at.
Sure, some people might prefer a more natural setting and others will enjoy the clean, dark background which could easily pass for a studio portrait. This is down to personal taste.
In regards to the “human” expressions and body language I’m not entirely convinced. Perhaps this is just my inability to transcend the literal subject.
However both birds appear to be preening themselves with their bills in this shot and this is a very animalistic activity and I don’t quite connect with the “Human Thoughts” as per the title or intention of the image. However others might very well connect with the image on that level.
Nevertheless, to me, it is clearly a very beautiful and intimate portrait of flamingos in all their elegance which has been executed with great success. It would look great as a gallery canvas-wrap print (or straight print for that matter) on any wall!
I would like to thank Karen Tate very much for sharing this image with us here on Photography 24/7.
You can view more of Karen’s work on her website: www.throughkarenseyes.com.
P.S. For some tips on zoo photography take at peek at the Zoo Photography Tips article.
If you want to get to grips with your camera try PhotographyCourses.biz
4. February 2010 at 1:41 am
Thank you so much for taking the time to critique my image. You answered my questions, and offered so much more – meaning that I *learned* so much more! Very much appreciated!