Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by cpickett:
I was using a lens with 4.0 as the lowest, but I agree, the background could use more blurring, which I suppose I could have done in post-processing, and I could have even taken out the "bush" but I wasn't sure if that would break the rules (removing a major element).

It was shot in AV mode, I was having some problems getting anything to expose well, so I actually took three or four of these, and this one was the brightest, set at +2 exposure (as far as the light meter was concerened). I probably should have switched over to manual.

Thanks for the tip on the processing, I'll try sharpening less in more steps in the future. As to the haloing, I dodged the bird, and I think that is what gives that effect.

Thanks for the critique!

Slippy:
Thanks man, the poster above you is quite clearly insane as well :).

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by Artyste:
Hello, and greetings from the Critique Club. I am your critiquer, Artyste, and we have a lovely little write up for you today.

Initial Thoughts

A little dark, not sure what I'm looking at here. oh! I see it. Hey, that's not half bad.

Composition / Content

Your composition is quite nice IMO, with but one failing, the little tree/bush hangings there distract a little too strongly. I was drawn to them at first and it took me a minute to get to the rest of the image. Chalk that up to the fact that DPC can be slow to load perhaps. Love the look of the model, and how you've given room for the direction of the bird's walk.

Background

Possibly slightly busier than it could be, I wonder if dropping the aperature to 3.5 or 2.8 would have blurred it out that much more. As I said above, I'm not too keen on the bush being there either, but outdoor shots aren't always that manageable, so it's not a *huge* complaint at all. Nitpicking, really.

Camera Work / Technical

I wish we could know what mode some of these were shot on, I'd be very curious to know if you were on M, Av, or Tv (or P for that matter). It looks to me like this shot was underexposed, and you brought the exposure up in areas yourself. The work on the bird has left a little haloing that is a touch off-putting, and renders the image a little surreal. It works with your title (especially because of the look on the bird's face), but overall it's just a little flat. I think a slight over-exposure and a drop down to a moody dark would have worked a little better.. however, I could be way off base too, and if that's what you *did* do, then I withdraw the suggestion.

Digital Processing

You provided no information on this, so I don't have too much to say except that a little more use of layer masks might have helped the haloing on the bird. (also, that seems to have been strengthed by the slight over-sharpening on the image as well). Sharpening is tricky, and I find that it's better to sharpen in a few smaller steps, than trying to do it all at once.

Fits the Challenge

Yes, that poor bird certainly does look depressed and lonely, I do have to give it that. It's certainly a great candid capture, and good eyes for noticing something that'd get buy a good many of us.

My Opinion of the Photo

I like it. After the initial "I'm not sure.." stage, which only lasts a second or so, it really drags you in and you get the feeling of the photo. The few minor technical issues I mentioned are just that.. minor issues. They may have kept you from a better score, but the emotiveness you've got here is a great capture.

Good luck on future challenges.

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by Strikeslip:
Wow, out of the loop for a while, you've come back with a vengeance. Congrats on the 6+!

I like how the tree frames the upper-left corner. A couple of the commenters below are clearly insane.

Message edited by author 2005-09-05 13:04:55.

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by kmbr2001:
awww. birds rarely emit emotion, but you captured something here. nice job. 9

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by CalliopeKel:
This seagull really does look depressed and lonely. Convincing.

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by graphicfunk:
What a gait and what lovely feelings radiate from this tender study. 8

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by bobdaveant:
You have somehow caught emotion in this little guys face, wonderfully titled. 8.

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by Crisik:
great candid. stuff in the upper left is a bit distracting and may be a lighter color would add some contrast (?), but the mood is captured perfectly

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by jonasval:
haha. I'm feeling that bird. I think the leaves in the top left corner are distracting tho. Nice picture

Depressed & Lonely
by cpickett

Comment by Joey Lawrence:
aww, you can sure see it on his face <:-(
great picture, 10