Lon: First, Thanks for commenting on all the gallery entryies. I alway find comments on my own shot, as well as on the other shots, to be most useful.
Second, I like your peacock quite a bit. Nice colors. I don't notice the background problem to which you refer at all, even after you called attention to it. I actually like the composition you chose. Centering the actual eye of the bird would have made the shot too symetrical, and it might appear "posed" (or even stuffed). If you had included the entire length of the feathers, then the background could become more of a problem, and balancing the frame more difficult. I spent an hour or so chasing peacocks at Ruthin Castle, Wales, a few years back, and it's not easy to get a good composition. When the males display for females, they strut around quite a bit, and keep turning about, so it can be difficult to get a good, head-on shot while the tail is fully fanned out. If you chase them or try walking around to the other side, they often get nervous, pull in their tails, and duck into the bushes. Thanks for you comments on my shot. I liked it mostly because it's a portrait of my "new" dog taken with my new *ist D. She would look much different in the summer. First, her tongue would be hanging out. Second, I think a sled dog always looks better in the natural environment of the snow. Third, by summer she will be more used to me and the yard, and would probably just lie down or keep her head down to shiff the scent of the deer and the rabbits. The biggest challange I had here is that she couldn't figure out why I wasn't playing with her or taking her for a walk, but spending all that time walking around staring into a black thing with a shiny front piece. As a result, she kept turning away or turning around, so it took more time than I expected or Princess wanted to devote to this simple task. Lon Williamson wrote: " Princess " by Dan Matyola > This shot says Winter and a Dog Born to It to me. The muted > colors help it along. Very nice. Dan, do you think you could > make as effective a portrait of this particular critter in the summer?
