*** SPRING SEASONAL CONTEST PRELIMINARIES ARE UP IN GD ***

[regnaD kciN]

Here, here, and here.

Keep 'em :kick: ed!

[Tindalos]

1. Thanks n/t

[Celebration]

2. speculation in the thread about my photo, LOL

Quite incorrect. Funny the assumptions people make. Don't people understand that it takes less than a split second for one bird to give a grasshopper to another bird? Don't people know that the male bluebird doesn't have a stash of grasshoppers waiting to feed to his mate? How in the world could I have as many as ten shots to choose from? I had one shot only, and was really lucky to get that. There was a female bluebird on a branch, and I focused and was ready to snap the picture when WHOOSH, some activity. I snapped a split second later than I had originally "planned", after the Whooshing turned into another bluebird that lit on the branch, and hoped for the best. And that was it. I had no idea about the grasshopper until I got home.

As an aside, I was asking my daughter why I loved taking pictures of birds so much....because I don't really think it has to do with photography or birds. The answer is twofold I think. My answer was that I love eye hand coordination things. But her answer was better--it forces me to be in the moment. And this picture is a perfect example of that. And there will likely never be another moment exactly like that one.

[CC]

3. People that haven't tried taking pictures of anything beyond

the family snap shots or vacation landscapes have no clue and they really have no clue on trying to capture birds. Many think now that cameras are digital they (and we) can just snap away like the Ashton Kutcher does in the Nikon commercials and end up with pro quality prints. I love my Nikon but I really hate those commercials. The wedding one most of all. The one thing you should not try skipping to save money is your wedding photographer. That is the one thing kept out, view, shared and framed and it you are luckily remade for your 50th anniversary celebration.

You caught a great moment in time with those bluebirds. Yes you had a little luck but even that wouldn't of happened if you hadn't been there and set up for a photo in the first place. I love that photo.

[Mira]

4. I second all that, though I don't quite understand it as well as you and CC

One thing I understand completely is that I, too, love that photo.

[CC]

5. I can do more than one thing at a time

but not if it involvs typing. Hope people can read through the mistakes not only in typing but wording. Note to self, one conversation at a time. :rofl:


BTW not knocking the snap shot thing, we all started there. :)

[Celebration]

11. I like the idea of rapid fire cameras

I just have an advanced point and shoot, and opted for the BIG telephoto zoom, specifically for the purpose of shooting wildlife. I don't think that is available with the rapid fire. But even if there was such a camera, it would have had to be at video shooting quickness to capture ten frames of that, LOL.

I haven't noticed the commercials, but totally agree on the wedding photographer! I would never attempt to do anything like wedding photography. I could make the slideshows though!!

[regnaD kciN]

6. FWIW, that same poster...

...also commented how unfair it was that my tulip shot was leading its preliminary, since it was a "picture that makes itself" and devoid of any "technical skill." Oh, really? Would said poster have been quite able to set up the five stops of graduated neutral-density filters necessary to balance the foreground and sky (and doing so in pitch darkness, I might add)? Not to mention scouting out that location the day before to make sure I had a good composition -- with the right bands of colors, and leading lines heading roughly toward the intersection of the vertical and horizontal thirds of the image -- then getting up at 4:30 A.M. to find that same location in the dark, balance on sloped furrows of baked mud while making sure neither I nor my tripod did any damage to the flowers, continually have to pull and reset the filters to remove condensation, calculate the exposure for full depth-of-field but still not have the light breeze leave the foreground flowers a blur, etc., etc.?

In a way, I was the beneficiary of great luck in that the sunrise (not "sunset") was near-perfect; I've gone on long drives and even weekend trips like this to a location that "makes itself," only to get there in the early morning hours and found that a fluke weather-shift has resulted in fog, a blank gray overcast sky, a stiff wind, or something else that meant all my efforts were wasted. But, personally, I think this photo was one of the most technically-demanding I've ever taken (in similar situations, I've come away with unsatisfactory results too many times to count), and to have it brushed off as an "unfair" "picture that makes itself" really frosts me. I'd like to see the author of that comment be given the same location on the same day, and come away with even a half-way decent image.

[Mira]

7. I did not know all the details you are describing, but suffice it to say

it really "frosted" me as well, and I'm glad you spoke up.

[Mz Pip]

8. creating a work of art

in photography or any other media is hard work. It just doesn't magically happen. I have been waiting for 5 days since the start of the May contest for the conditions to be right to take the shot I want to enter. Even then I'll probably take at least a dozen shots to get it right. Though the way our weather has been going there's a good possibility that I won't get a shot at the shot. :shrug:

There is only so much post processing work that can be done to get the desired effect.

That's the way it goes.

[Celebration]

10. oh, I hope you get that picture

I'll be looking for it.

[Mz Pip]

12. Doesn't look good

for today, either and I think it's supposed tio rain tomorrow. :cry:

I may have to figure out another crazy Heart.

[Celebration]

9. LOL, people are ignorant

No wonder your photo is so great--but now you have given away your secrets. ;)

[Tindalos]

14. That poster doesn't know what they're talking about

At first glance, it was obvious how much technical skill was involved in that photo. Not just a pretty snapshot. It's in a class of its own.

In past contests, I've been accused of "having the best camera and lenses". Lol. Much as a I love my Nikon D40(+kit lenses), it's a toy compared to many other DSLRs.

Don't let one comment bother you. Look at it this way: You're still kicking ass in the contest.

[Tindalos]

13. Don't sell yourself short

You set up the photo, anticipating that something interesting would happen. The shot you got wasn't the one you planned, but your instincts (or whatever you want to call them) were right. The picture you got was a good one.

[regnaD kciN]

15. Putting it mildly...

There's a reason why I don't do much bird photography -- I've never gotten results like Celebration's, or those of a few other bird specialists on this forum.

:applause: