close up at the pond and chat

Challenge #8 in the Photo chat series. Hosted by AndrePooh, barb_s.

Challenge has finished

***This is a complex challenge, please read the instructions and the and the comments first.*** Enter one photo showing little things, flora, fauna that are associated with ponds and ditches and also enter a -dummy- photo as shown in the example below as a second picture, see for elaboration the comment in the example. Then give constructive comment on all other photos. Eventually you can enter a second improved version of your first picture by withdrawing the dummy and use that free slot.

Show full rules

Announced:

Sunday, 22nd January, 2012 (GMT)

Submissions:

Sunday, 29th January, 2012 – Saturday, 4th February, 2012 (GMT)

Voting:

Sunday, 5th February, 2012 – Saturday, 11th February, 2012 (GMT)

Processing rules:

Post processing is as cosmetics, use a little and it enhances the end result artistically. Use too much and the result is blatantly artificial, which is frawned upon in this challenge. So HDR and standard basic post processing is okay, as long as it is not overwhelmingly noticable.
No composites, we want honest pictures

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

ENTRANTS MUST HAVE >25 POST/COMMENTS!
Each entrant must, on their honor, write a helpful Comment/Critique for the other 19 entries during the entry pase. It should be describing what they like and/or dislike about the photo, and what they may have done differently,
After receiving comments you can enter a second improved version of your first picture after withdrawing the dummy
Include "second version" in the title.
DO NOT WITHDRAW THE FIRST PHOTO THOUGH. we should be able to compare them.
To allow proper evalutation and balance loading times, the longest side of the submitted picture should be between 1000 and 1600 pixels
The number of participants is limited to 20. It will be announced in the comments when the challenge is full. Expect DQ if you enter after that.
Comply with the standard DPR decency rules.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in DQ.

Maximum number of entries per user:

Maximum number of entries in challenge:

submission
phase has

ended

30 entries

voting
phase has

ended

583 votes

Slideshow 33 / 33 Full size Next Challenge Previous

Sitting Ducks

by gerry328

33^rd place

1.844

low

high

Camera:	Nikon D7000
Lens:	Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
Submitted:	Sunday, 29th January, 2012 01:27 (GMT)
Taken:	Tuesday, 27th December, 2011
Focal length:	75 mm
Shutter speed:	1/250 sec
Aperture:	F5.3
ISO:	100
Notes:
Views:	63
Galleries:	View this photo in gerry328's gallery

Provide complaint details

Your complaint (along with the complaints of others regarding this entry) will be reviewed by the challenge owner. Depending upon the nature and applicability of the complaint, the entry may be disqualified. In extreme circumstances the user who submitted the entry may receive a ban from the challenge or series in question.

Reason:

	Violates rules of the challenge
	Spam / Commercial
	Trolling / Abusive
	Sexual content / Not family friendly
	Other

Comments:

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Entry comments

Total comments: 11

Clone out the poop :)

0 upvotes

got to agree ..of all the ducks in all of the ponds in all of the photos ,you had to c%^p all over this one lol ... but even if you just narrowed down to one bird and brought that forward i like the difference in textures from the coarse rock to the calm water though

0 upvotes

get rid of the duck poop

0 upvotes

Intersting subject for the challenge. I agree that it would be more effective if you crop out one of the ducks (maybe the white one) and then clean up the poo. There are some nice colours and contrasts to work with here.

0 upvotes

Good subject for the challenge. Sharp, nice color and contrast. I like the way the ducks are looking at the camera, and I like that feather floating on the water. The right duck has a funny 'smug' expression. The duck droppings are realistic, but I think if it were my photo, I'd clone that out. And if the image were slightly brighter, I think it would be better.

0 upvotes

Again, great ducks! -always a wonderful subject! -But I do agree with seveal points from the others. First is the "poo" is a distraction, and it would be very easy to clone that out of your shot. Secondly, I think you really have two separate photos here. I'd play with the idea of cropping one or the other (the white duck as a horizontal format and the black one as a vertical). Each would have enough interest to carry a single image IMO. The only other thing I can bring to the table is maybe boosting your color just a little bit. The reds seem fine here, but there is kind of a "pall" over the rest of the color. Perhaps brightening (and toning the reds back down afterward, since they could become almost neon-looking if brightened) would help. Lovely subject for the challenge though. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this one!

0 upvotes

Beautiful ducks, I would crop a bit on the left and try to remove the excrements
(photoshop?) .

0 upvotes

I would crop out the white duck and clone out the excrement .........

0 upvotes

I would try a different view-point, maybe getting in closer, looking for a more interesting background - things like that.

0 upvotes

I like all in the shot except the excrement of the birds. As I have no clue how to get rid of them, I can't really offer any advice. Also top left corner could be crop out.

0 upvotes

Good shot of the two ducks, and they are nicely placed; good colour saturation. If possible, try to clone out the duck poo, which is a bit off-putting to the viewer, and doesn't add anything to the shot, IMO.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 11

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