Artistic or just a bad blurry photo?

[Rookie Roy]

I was immediately going to hit the delete button when my wife said, “I like that photo“. Please be brutaly honest. It made me stop and think. I am amazed sometimes at the images people like. Cardinal coming out of bird bath.

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[Krümelkraft]

I like it, too. It just goes brrrrrrrrr...
Very dynamic with all the droplets.
For the record: One of my favorite pictures I took is not sharp either.

 

[Anjin San]

Nobody said a good photo has to be sharp…sometimes it’s the blur and some sharp details somewhere that make it.

 

[Patrick M]

I like it. Shows a dynamic image

 

[bleirer]

The central portion has a certain appeal with the bokeh and the colors. I'd severely crop away all the green and all the stone and leave a horizontal rectangle with just the bird and the oof background with those bits of water catching the light. It would have been special if you got the head sharp and everything else blurry. As is it's a near miss unless maybe you purposely blur the head too, make it more impressionistic.

 

[Rookie Roy]

The central portion has a certain appeal with the bokeh and the colors. I'd severely crop away all the green and all the stone and leave a horizontal rectangle with just the bird and the oof background with those bits of water catching the light. It would have been special if you got the head sharp and everything else blurry. As is it's a near miss unless maybe you purposely blur the head too, make it more impressionistic.

I like it, too. It just goes brrrrrrrrr...
Very dynamic with all the droplets.
For the record: One of my favorite pictures I took is not sharp either.

I like it, too. It just goes brrrrrrrrr...
Very dynamic with all the droplets.
For the record: One of my favorite pictures I took is not sharp either.

Nobody said a good photo has to be sharp…sometimes it’s the blur and some sharp details somewhere that make it.

I like it. Shows a dynamic image

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to comment and make suggestions. I would have loved to have the head and eyes sharp and the remainder blurred. A case of setting up for a still shot and the bird took off and I kept shooting (hoping for a miracle)!

 

[EricBowles]

While l like the general composition and illustration of motion, I think it's generally going to be a discard. You might be able to use it as an abstract or background. For a serious photo, some part of the subject needs to be sharp so it does not look like a near miss.

I think the standard depends on how you are going to use it. If you have a use for it - keep it and use it. But otherwise, it's interesting and probably a discard.

 

[NorthernFocus]

Just a binner. If the bird's head was reasonably sharp it would be cool. But as is, naaah.

 

[Rookie Roy]

While l like the general composition and illustration of motion, I think it's generally going to be a discard. You might be able to use it as an abstract or background. For a serious photo, some part of the subject needs to be sharp so it does not look like a near miss.

I think the standard depends on how you are going to use it. If you have a use for it - keep it and use it. But otherwise, it's interesting and probably a discard.

Just a binner. If the bird's head was reasonably sharp it would be cool. But as is, naaah.

Thank you for your sincere responses! Your thoughts add to my learning experience which I can use to get a better shot next time!

 

[Niels.hr.Hansen]

vauuuw, it's flapping those wings fast ;-)
When you have the rock and some of the droplet's path sharp it really show the action. Personally I would crop it tighter, lose some of the top and left side.

 

[Woodyg3]

Too blurred for an artistic effect for me. But, as you said, there will be those who really like this kind of shot.

 

[Anjin San]

It’s usable amd worth keeping/showing for me…and if a slightly faster shutter had reduced the motion blur on the head it would be an outstanding shot IMO.

 

[DRwyoming]

Near miss for me. I go with Eric's answer above, at least some part of the image should be sharp.

One of my first photo instructors used to drill in the saying "There is no art without intent" and it seems pretty clear the intent wasn't a completely blurry facial shot of this bird. I'd rack this one up to a near miss.

But I'd also take away the positives, the blurred wings are pretty cool and the overall shot is good in concept. Set up and keep trying and with practice, time in the field and a bit of luck you'll nail a similar shot where everything comes together.

 

[Calson]

I think your initial response, which was to delete the image was the correct one. I would only save it to use it to determine what to change in your approach to get a keeper.

 

[Butlerkid]

My husband often tells me how great an image is.....right before I delete. What's that saying....."Love is blind"!

P.S......don't forget Valentine's Day is coming up!

 

[John Woodworth]

There is lot that’s interesting in this shot…Like the streaks formed by the water droplets.

But I think I would have to classify it as a near miss if it were mine. I keep shots like this in a folder for lessons-learned and to shoot another day. There is a lot to be learned here about what could have been an absolutely terrific shot.

What I read from the the famous photogs I admire is that they just keep going back until everything—the light, the composition, the camera settings—finally comes together.

Don’t let the basic idea behind this image die.

 

[Palouse]

I like it. It's a lot like how I see so many birds in flight!.

 

[Paul Grecian]

There are elements of the image I like: the wing blur, the background bokeh, the splashing water. But without either more blur overall, maybe a side view in flight, or some part of the eyes in focus, I don't feel it quite works. What it does is excite the imagination to what kind of images you would now be interested in making.

 

[Rookie Roy]

Near miss for me. I go with Eric's answer above, at least some part of the image should be sharp.

One of my first photo instructors used to drill in the saying "There is no art without intent" and it seems pretty clear the intent wasn't a completely blurry facial shot of this bird. I'd rack this one up to a near miss.

But I'd also take away the positives, the blurred wings are pretty cool and the overall shot is good in concept. Set up and keep trying and with practice, time in the field and a bit of luck you'll nail a similar shot where everything comes together.

Dave, thanks for sharing that saying! Makes a lot of sense to me and I think it applies well here!

 

[Rookie Roy]

There is lot that’s interesting in this shot…Like the streaks formed by the water droplets.

But I think I would have to classify it as a near miss if it were mine. I keep shots like this in a folder for lessons-learned and to shoot another day. There is a lot to be learned here about what could have been an absolutely terrific shot.

What I read from the the famous photogs I admire is that they just keep going back until everything—the light, the composition, the camera settings—finally comes together.

Don’t let the basic idea behind this image die.

Thank you! Great advise!

 

[Rookie Roy]

My husband often tells me how great an image is.....right before I delete. What's that saying....."Love is blind"!

P.S......don't forget Valentine's Day is coming up!

Thanks for sharing! Nice to know I’m not the only one!

 

[Rookie Roy]

There are elements of the image I like: the wing blur, the background bokeh, the splashing water. But without either more blur overall, maybe a side view in flight, or some part of the eyes in focus, I don't feel it quite works. What it does is excite the imagination to what kind of images you would now be interested in making.

Thank you for your keen assesment!

 

[Rookie Roy]

I think your initial response, which was to delete the image was the correct one. I would only save it to use it to determine what to change in your approach to get a keeper.

Thank you for commenting! Yes, a learning experience!

 

[Mark Garfinkel]

Happy wife, happy life (lol) the picture shows action.

 

[Whiskeyman]

Were it mine, I'd leave it alone and revisit it later; say, in a month. If it doesn't then strike you as a definite keeper, move it to a discard later folder. If it doesn't strike you as a keeper at all at that time, delete it.

Either way, if you think the shot has potential, revisit what you did to get the shot. Include what went right, and what went wrong. Then think about what you need to do to lessen or eliminate the wrongs, and try to get the shot again, with improvement. It may never happen if you do all of this, but it definitely won't happen if you don't try!