"Cormorants, Lake Awassa Ethiopia, 1988" by Bob Walkden:
Cropped and composed just about perfectly, this shot would be wonderful if it were only of the three birds on the left. But, the one on the right, looking in the opposite direction, adds just that bit of whimsy to the shot, making it quite memorable! Beautiful bokeh, but the colours seem a bit muted - I guess it was an overcast day, and one must take what nature offers, right? All in all a terrific shot, Bob. Thanks.
"Whitetail Deer in the Snow" by Bill Sawyer:
When I initially looked at the gallery, scanning through the thumbs, I opened this as soon as I saw it. It just jumped out at me, even as a thumbnail. When I opened it, I wasn't disappointed. Man, you nailed this one, Bill!! Everything is as close to perfect as can be: focus is Right There, composition is gorgeous (that tree in the upper left background, highlighted by the clumps of bright snow, balancing the deer's head on the right - man, it really came together for you, eh? <g>), beautiful bokeh (but still enough resolution that you can see what the background is), the snow on the animal, it appears to look right into the lens. I could go on and on, but suffice to say, this is one of the best shots this month, in a gallery that has an awful lot of strong images. Wow. Thanks for sharing it with us, Bill.
"Denali Caribou" by Kenneth Waller:
Another winner. Nice sharp focus, just one of the nicest, smoothest bokehs one will ever see, great composition. In addition to all that, there's the added point of interest of the shedding antlers, kind of bumping the image up to another level. Terrific photo, Ken. Thanks.
"Buck" by Bob Sullivan:
Well, Bob, you have the misfortune of following two of the best deer shots I've seen in a long time. <g> I must admit, though, I find too many distractions in your photo to say that it's top notch. The bright green grass is overexposed, the backlit deer is underexposed, the branches and leaves in the foreground distract me. Granted, it's a real tough shot, especially with the exposure difficulties you're presented with. And, like Pat's hawk, earlier, I recognize that shooting in the wild, you grab what you can, when you can, because the deer ain't gonna stand still. I'm not being facetious when I say this would not be a bad illustration of how a deer's natural camoflage works well in the forest. Maybe it's just more that you had the bad luck of being in a great gallery. Sorry, but I gotta be honest. Not a bad shot, just not a great one either.
"Snow Horse" by Steven Desjardins:
Just a lovely shot, Steve. The horse couldn't have posed for you any better if you asked it to. I like the few wisps of dry long grass in front of the horse; somehow they just give that bit of atmosphere. Beautiful blanket of white snow, lovely bokeh of the wooded background. Very well done.
"Donkey" by Boris Liberman:
Like so many other photos this month, just a very, very strong entry! Beautiful, tight composition. What really jumps out at me is that the eye is very sharp (auto focus? we don't need no steenkin' auto focus!), and other parts of the face are softer - just a great portrait, imho. Also love the way the hay in front is sharp, giving way to nicely out-of-focus hay. Just a lovely shot, Boris. Thanks.
"Solitary Buffalo" by Harald Rust:
One criticism: It's a bison, not a buffalo. That's it (and I'm just joking anyway). After that, I can only praise this beautiful, tranquil scene. Just to show how bad I am at nature shots, I would likely have put the BISON <g> dead centre. You showed that would have been a mistake. I would have likely put in the tops of the trees. By cropping then out (either in the viewfinder or later, I don't know), you ended up putting the horizon in a ~perfect~ place. So many beautiful details, I can't mention all of them, but I love the way the BISON's shadow breaks up the monotony of the yellow grass. Gorgeous shot!
"The Eyes Have It" by Cotty:
After this one, I'm going to watch the last quarter of the Packers game, but first, I must relate a humourous anecdote (at least, I think it's humourous). Before I knew the gallery was open, I got an e-mail from Cotty, commenting on my entry this month. I immediately replied, and part of my reply was that I tried to do something other than the expected glut of housecats that were bound to be in this gallery. Then, I go through the thumbs, and what image (er, digital capture) does Cotty send in? <vbg> Well, it's a cat, but what a great shot it is! Again with the manual focus just being spot on! Hmmm... let's see, a K50 1.2 - could it be wide open? Other than that eye, everything's soft. That dark background with the tinges of red works beautifully. There's something more to this, though. As a cat owner all my life (not the same cat <g>), it looks like this cat's on a mission. Hunting, getting ready to pounce, whatever, it just has that look in it's eye. Thanks, Cotty, for giving us something as "ordinary" as a housecat, and turning it into art.
Off to watch some football.
cheers, frank
"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer
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