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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Birds (Advanced Editing IV)
Collection: Birds
Camera: Gateway DC-T50
Location: Virginia Safari Park, Natural Bridge, VA
Date: Jun 11, 2005
Aperture: 1:6.7
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/250 sec
Galleries: Humorous, Animals
Date Uploaded: Jun 11, 2005

 Taken at Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA on June 11, 2005. I spent the day shooting exotic birds (ostriches, emus, rheas, etc.) in preparation for the Birds Challenge, but never could seem to get the shot I wanted. Then at the end of the day in the Petting section of the Zoo, these bantam chickens appeared and were more than happy to pose for the camera. The rooster seemed to love the attention and I found that shots of him seemed (at least to me) to be the best I'd taken all day. Then I changed my mind again and decided on this shot. I really like the zebra in the background and the "seemingly curious" expression on the ostrich's face. HOPEFULLY, you'll like it too!

PP:
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Increased Color Saturation
Adjusted Levels
Adjusted Source Lighting
Reduced Backlighting
Increased Contrast
Resized & Saved for Web

EDIT: Kodak's POTD July 17, 2006.

Statistics
Place: 60 out of 289
Avg (all users): 6.0403
Avg (commenters): 6.9250
Avg (participants): 5.7963
Avg (non-participants): 6.3964
Views since voting: 2761
Views during voting: 450
Votes: 273
Comments: 57
Favorites: 6 (view)

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AuthorThread
 07/23/2006 09:15:08 AM
I was just surfing thru Kodak picture of the day and saw you won on july 17th 2006 for this great photo! Huge congrats!
Kodak POTD

Message edited by author 2006-07-23 13:18:06.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/12/2006 07:28:00 PM
Originally posted by cmeier:
so i've read the comments of others and looked at this for a long time and i think the presence of the zebra makes the shot. in my mind's eye, i see the photographer taking the time to carefully compose the zebra in the shot when this ostrich pops his head up just as he/she presses the shutter.

i think it's hysterical!


I agree with that comment. One of those shots that makes you laugh out loud. I just love the "expression" on his face.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/11/2006 08:55:36 AM
I love this picture! Made me laugh out loud when I saw it! It's timeless! Well done!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/01/2005 08:42:57 AM
so i've read the comments of others and looked at this for a long time and i think the presence of the zebra makes the shot. in my mind's eye, i see the photographer taking the time to carefully compose the zebra in the shot when this ostrich pops his head up just as he/she presses the shutter.

i think it's hysterical!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2005 09:33:45 AM
Man is this guy curious... if it weren't for that darn zebra, this pic would be priceless. I like the texture and focus.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/19/2005 06:22:37 PM
This is very cute, very sharp and very cool. I'm sure the zoo would buy this it is a great expression of nature and harmony between different species. The colours and textures and the eyes on the bird are all sweet. Added you as a fave.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/17/2005 04:01:36 PM
Really wish you had done better on this one. It looks a bit over-processed, but the shot is perfect. The striking difference between the two apparent moods of the animals is fantastic. Very well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/18/2005 09:18:09 PM
This is such a happy/goofy picture, it's hard not to like it. The emu reminds me a lot of Goldie Hawn.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/18/2005 08:41:10 PM
Very nice, the bird looks like it smiling.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/18/2005 06:36:33 PM
A cute candid capture. His expression is priceless.
The post processing is a bit too much, imo. It needs to be toned down.
Big emphasis on imo...lol. Pretty decent score, so the voters liked it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/09/2005 03:29:04 PM
Nice shot, great expression.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/05/2005 07:01:24 AM
Looks like a happy animal. hehee.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/20/2005 01:54:48 AM
I thought this would have been placed much higher than 60th!
Oh well, still a great shot.
Better luck next time.
Kev
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
06/19/2005 06:41:55 PM
Great composition. Looks like he popped his head up just as you were going to photograph the zebra.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/19/2005 04:58:43 PM
Great expression. Looks slightly oversharpened but that may be his feathers. Its kinda like oyu were taking a picture of a zebra and he popped his head in - just like a little kid. 8 - good luck in the challenge!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/19/2005 03:15:09 PM
It's really smiling at you and so pleased .
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/19/2005 05:09:30 AM
I really like the expression and detail. The zebra in the background is distracting in a way but all in all a it gets a high vote.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/19/2005 02:32:00 AM
compositionwise a bit of a clutter but the emu's happy look make it all good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2005 03:05:55 PM
that's just too funny! weird compo (but as I said, funny) with nice DOF.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2005 10:08:21 AM
What a winning smile!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/17/2005 05:17:02 PM
What a surprise when this popped up. Great expression on the birds face.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2005 03:20:32 PM
Lol... Funny as hell! It looks like he is laughing at you... If the Zebra wouldn´t be there the picture wouldn´t be the same!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2005 12:29:39 PM
I love it! This is so funny. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2005 07:15:03 AM
Love it ! Just a good funny image. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2005 06:32:50 AM
lol! amazing DOF with such foreground and background detail
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/15/2005 08:26:37 PM
A shallower DOF would've been beneficial A great capture none the less and one of my favorites.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/15/2005 07:18:04 PM
This looks very oversharpened, but I love the expression. Something about the dumb but happy look on the ostrich's face and his placement in the frame makes it feel like a goofy kid just bobbed unexpectedly into the frame. The oversharpening is the only identifiable thing preventing me from rating this higher.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/15/2005 06:46:01 PM
What a cutie
It is a shame about the zebra both look good in this image

Nice one!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/15/2005 12:47:36 PM
lol, so cute, that's a really neat capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/15/2005 07:10:34 AM
funny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/14/2005 05:20:47 PM
Nice ! Love the look on the face - can't help but make you smile. The zebra in the background, adds a different texture and draws you into the image. Well done, good luck !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/14/2005 10:56:48 AM
cool, funny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/14/2005 04:59:28 AM
Zoo? Background ruins it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 07:23:42 PM
The zebra seems to distract from this picture..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 05:49:09 PM
Don't you hate photo hogs? Nice pic!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 01:14:24 PM
Is the zebra distracting ? I almost didn't know what I was looking at to start with, and yet without it the shot wouldn't have the same impact, it would just be an ostrich. Mmmm. It made me laugh.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 01:05:42 PM
WINNER

Smile please. How on earth did you make it smile.
Wonderful
10 in case you didn't guess
good luck
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 09:07:58 AM
This is one of those photographs that just make you smile. Reminds me of my little brother jumping into the middle of every picture when we were kids! VERY cute!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 09:06:05 AM
LOL

Such a cute face....

Wrong name...you should have called this "Mad At Gascar"
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 08:55:35 AM
I feel like he is about to peck me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 07:45:31 AM
The zebra adds a great bit of contrast. Very candid expression. Nice and different.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 07:02:57 AM
I found this photo to be very humerous.
nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 05:44:30 AM
Perfect! It kills me to say this, as I entered the least interesting emu shot, but you really got it right! The look on this guy's face is priceless, the composition is wonderful, the detail, light & colors are great. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 05:34:50 AM
These birds always crack me up, they always look so crazy! nice capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 05:17:16 AM
Clever positioning! Interesting photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 04:50:18 AM
that's a cheerfull looking ostrige. It looks a touch oversharpened.
not that it matters, but this looks more like a zoo than a safari.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 04:16:08 AM
i love the expression on it's face, the zebra is a distraction though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 03:28:20 AM
zebra too distracting to me. reduces the subject birds appeal.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 01:39:45 AM
Nicely captured .... love the expression...well done and good luck
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/13/2005 01:15:24 AM
this makes me laugh he has such a happy face 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 10:37:44 PM
I think this would have been fantastic either w/o the zebra or with the zebra in another position. Great look and expression! 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 09:27:13 PM
I have a bit of a problem with the way the ostrich "disects" the zebra - i.e. the composition is not what it could be.
However, you got a nice close-up of the bird which is always a good thing - and the zebra looks good, too :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 08:49:13 PM
This is funny. The impression I get is someone trying to take a picture of the zebra but the ostritch just popped up as the shutter was released.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 08:41:04 PM
Love it!!! I had no idea those birds can look cute, this photo shows they can
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 08:37:09 PM
Got yourself a fun capture. Makes me smile. Too bad the zebra is in the background because he's distracting and makes the photo looks like a quick snapshot. That said, the expression on your bird is priceless.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 08:29:51 PM
way over sharpened for my taste.... doesn't look like a natural bird
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/12/2005 08:20:12 PM
hahhaah i love this one! 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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