Which photo do you like better?

[cr_wildlife]

I recently had an opportunity to photograph some Blue-winged Teals. I had in my mind getting a shot of a male as he exploded off of the water and into flight. These small dabbling ducks float on the surface and give no sign (that I can detect) that they are planning on taking off. To me, they really seem to literally explode of the surface. Thus, getting a take off shot means being ready to hit the shutter as fast as possible when they start up. I was fortunate to get a couple of shots that were taken early enough to freeze the exploding water and that showed both the blue of the wing and the green iridescent speculum. So, here are two of the photos, one with the reflection and one without. Which do you like better? Although the images are similar, they are actually from two different series. As an aside, I realize in retrospect that I could have used the precapture feature on the Z9 to get these shots, but I simple did not think of it at the time (and I have no idea how to set it up!). Thanks for letting me hear your opinion.

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[Butlerkid]

You expect us to choose between them? The first one with the reflection is great. And I love the second with the slight head turn toward the viewer and the scene filling the frame a bit more. You might consider darkening/saturating the blue on the wing a bit more....

 

[John Navitsky]

i prefer the top, mostly because i feel like there isn’t (relatively) enough space in front of the duck in the second photo. to address that, i might consider trying the second one, cropping some of the left side off. yah, i realize that would mean the ripples would not be fully present

maybe a tad more space over the duck as well

 

[Cameron T]

I like the first one more. There's more space, which makes the image feel more like you're watching it happen. The splash is also (imo) more interesting

 

[NorthernFocus]

Wow. Both excellent images. But way different. I tend to prefer tight/isolating shots with a lot of detail. So I'm going with the second one. They're both top notch images and it's really a matter of preference. And how they are to be viewed/displayed. If I was printing them I'd print the first one larger than the second and probably on canvas. The second one definitely lends itself to metal to show that detail and the splash.

 

[airestudiosmt]

My choice is the first one. I like the reflection.

 

[Charles Loy]

Super pair of photos

 

[DavidT]

First one

 

[JP Onstwedder]

Super photos, both. I prefer the second one, because the position of the bird and especially the head is more interesting. Clearly it is looking at something, not just straight ahead as it takes off. That’s also why the limited space in front of the bird doesn’t bother me: it adds to the intrigue. Finally the water splash is a bit nicer in the second image.

 

[geoawelch]

I prefer the first, but wouldn’t mind seeing a looser crop (if possible) showing more water to the right.

Both are excellent in their own right.

Cheers, George

 

[Anjin San]

Generally speaking…I would go with the reflection…but in this case the ripples mess with the mirror reflection which makes it a little less nixe than mirrored…so they’re tied for me.

 

[Wade Abadie]

I definitely prefer the first one.

 

[cr_wildlife]

You expect us to choose between them? The first one with the reflection is great. And I love the second with the slight head turn toward the viewer and the scene filling the frame a bit more. You might consider darkening/saturating the blue on the wing a bit more....

Thanks, Karen! Looks like people are split pretty evenly. I was thinking of sending one of these into a photo contest that does not allow cloning additional background into the photo, which is why each one looks a bit short on the right.

 

[cr_wildlife]

i prefer the top, mostly because i feel like there isn’t (relatively) enough space in front of the duck in the second photo. to address that, i might consider trying the second one, cropping some of the left side off. yah, i realize that would mean the ripples would not be fully present

maybe a tad more space over the duck as well

Thank you, John! The contest that I was thinking of entering does not allow any cloning in of background to expand the image, so these are the best I could do with that limitation.

 

[cr_wildlife]

I like the first one more. There's more space, which makes the image feel more like you're watching it happen. The splash is also (imo) more interesting

Thank you, Cameron. I appreciate your comments.

 

[cr_wildlife]

Wow. Both excellent images. But way different. I tend to prefer tight/isolating shots with a lot of detail. So I'm going with the second one. They're both top notch images and it's really a matter of preference. And how they are to be viewed/displayed. If I was printing them I'd print the first one larger than the second and probably on canvas. The second one definitely lends itself to metal to show that detail and the splash.

Thank you, Dan! I appreciate your suggestions and opinions.

 

[cr_wildlife]

My choice is the first one. I like the reflection.

Thanks for giving me your opinion, Steve!

 

[cr_wildlife]

Super pair of photos

Thank you, Charles. Do you have a preference?

 

[cr_wildlife]

First one

Thank you for your opinion, David!

 

[cr_wildlife]

Super photos, both. I prefer the second one, because the position of the bird and especially the head is more interesting. Clearly it is looking at something, not just straight ahead as it takes off. That’s also why the limited space in front of the bird doesn’t bother me: it adds to the intrigue. Finally the water splash is a bit nicer in the second image.

Thanks for sharing your opinion and rationale!

 

[cr_wildlife]

I prefer the first, but wouldn’t mind seeing a looser crop (if possible) showing more water to the right.

Both are excellent in their own right.

Cheers, George

Thank you, George! The contest I am thinking of entering does not allow cloning the background to extend the crop, so this is the best I can do.

 

[cr_wildlife]

Generally speaking…I would go with the reflection…but in this case the ripples mess with the mirror reflection which makes it a little less nixe than mirrored…so they’re tied for me.

Thanks for your opinion, Anjin!

 

[cr_wildlife]

I definitely prefer the first one.

Thanks for your opinion, Wade!

 

[Butlerkid]

Thanks, Karen! Looks like people are split pretty evenly. I was thinking of sending one of these into a photo contest that does not allow cloning additional background into the photo, which is why each one looks a bit short on the right.

Maybe @EricBowles will chime in!

 

[bleirer]

Having that full reflection makes all the difference in my view. Very nice. Should be in presentation forum or critique though.