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I know that the quality of this shot is questionable but I couldn't get over the fact that the handler looks as much like a hawk as the hawk does..

Hi Steve,

Good picture, both very serious.
Thanks for sharing.

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

I would be serious too if I had a bird on my shoulder that could pluck out my eye in a second. I think the quality of the photo is fine. It's the subject matter that makes this a great shot. Thanks for sharing it!

I'm pretty sure I went on a very scarey date with this guy -- and the fella in the hat looks familiar too!!

Beth

P.S. The fierceness of the hawk is captured beautifully, but the juxtaposition with the holder's expression is perfect. Just who is "holding" whom???

I think the shot is fine. There is a little focus of depth going on but considering that if you tried to keep all the bird in focus the focus depth would have blurred out the man. The head of the bird is quite sharp and I think that is really part of the focus of the shot and that is all that really matters. If you ask me it looks like the man is trying to read the bird's mind or trying to control it with his mind. Just the way he is looking at the bird you know? Like if he was going all Mr.Spock on him.

Hey Unc:

This is a terrific photo...that's what counts

I'll make some comments here based on what a judge might say if it was placed in a competition.

I'd have to disagree with you on the quality of this shot. This falls into the category of environmental portraiture so some of the things that might be criticized in a formal portrait would be cut some slack here.

First of all, the exposure is perfect. None of the whites are blasting and there is detail in the darks. Contrast is on the money as well.

Toby is dead on about the focus. Here the sharpest part of the image has to be the birds eye - and it is really sharp here. You also managed to keep pretty sharp focus in the guy's eye as well - tough to do in this shot. The soft focus on the birds wing is irrelevant here - in fact, if it was sharper it might detract from the photo. As it is, the viewer's eye goes right where it should.

A really striking feature of the photo is that you have catch-lights in the eyes of both subjects. Either one missing would kill the photo but you got them both. It's some times hard enough to get one in a single subject, let alone in two subjects.

There are two things I think you could do after the fact to improve this slightly. One is to crop about about an inch (as it shows up on the screen here) off the right hand side. The other would be to do something with that wooden post. Photoshopping it out with a clone tool would be the most effective but might be too difficult. Alternatively, you could experiment with darkening it or even greening it some to make it blend with the background better and be less of a distraction.

You can't do this one - but a way to improve it while taking the photo would have been to stoop just a little so that the bird's eyes were elevated just a bit more above the guy's eyes.

Sorry for going into judge's mode here - I used to do it on occasion and when I see a solid photo like this it all comes back.

With the "after the fact" corrections I suggested above, I think this would have a fair chance at winning a prize at a regional or state level competition.

As is, it's a solid journalistic shot that could easily be used in a magazine or web article.

Scott

First, Thank you all for taking the time to look and respond to this photo. I really enjoy reading the comments about all the photos on this board. It's a fun way to learn.

Scott;
I tried what you said and the difference is very pronounced. The hawk's head just pops out of the picture. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your wisdom.

Steve

Wow, that last one rocks, Uncle Steve. Like the post "greened" up and fading into the background like that. This way, it's certainly less of a distracter.

Cool Unc! Yeah, that pops!

Scott

Wow - I definitely like the greened post much better, too!

Yes, very cool. Notice how the stump now resembles the insert on top of Tom's shoes!

LOL. It really does.

Great picture. The touchup definitely helps the bird pop out.

HA! I never noticed it that way. I think it's just about time to update the avatar to another pic anyway. to avoid any confusion, I'll show you the difference (photo quality is terrible):

LOL!

Scott

If I hadn't noticed you'd forgotten the hat, Tom, I never would have guessed it was a different picture.

Thanks for sharing your sophisticated yet friggin' hilarious sense of humor.

Beth

Thanks Scott and Beth. Glad I brought a smile and a laugh. My apologies to Uncle Steve - I didn't mean to hijack his great photo post. If you're mad, it's all Jack's fault.

Tom;

Just got back in town and needed a good laugh. I love the shoe/post..post/shoe..the green thing. Nice LOL job !

Unc