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Last week I posted these three pictures of a Bonaparte’s Gull taking off from Lake Dora, Florida and asked which one was better. Below are the three shots:
A.
B.
C.
Nobody voted for A, probably because its feet were beneath the water, although it does have a little splash to the right. Everyone were split between B and C with B getting slightly more votes. Some noted the little drops of water beneath the body in C, but they’re there in B as well.
Judging from the comments, B would have received even more votes if I had left more space to the left of the bird, to give it somewhere to fly in to. I liked this one as well because the little splashes from its feet as it took off from the water, but by focusing on those water splashes I didn’t leave enough room to the left of the bird. In reality, the water splashes weren’t that prominent. So here is a revised C with a wider crop to give some space on the left and leaving out some of the water splashes to the right.
So what do you think – an improved B? Thanks to all who weighed in. I enjoy sharing these little exercises used to help develop a critical eye of our bird photography and I hope you do as well.
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