A Good Man, a photo from Ontario, Central

Photographer's Note

Yesterday late afternoon it was cold enough for my fingers to freeze, but for a few minutes, when the setting sun came out of the clouds, I was catapulted to the park nearby to feel its feeble warmth. This man, and his Bolivian wife a bit further, were feeding the seagulls for a while. Afterwards, seeing the bread was scarce, they started out to look for the one-legged duck in the lake. They said they saw it year after year and had to give it some food. I was moved by their earnest effort to go out of their way to find this duck.

I've put the colour version in the Workshop, for those who might be interested to look.

Title inspired by Jerzy's (bantonbuju) great shot of the same title.

delnaja, pasternak, sined, Paolo, Clairedelune, syd1946, tcht, Angelillo, eleparc, brevbrev14, ribeiroantonio, nwoehnl, bantonbuju, a_i_ren, marknunnerley has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

delnaja (2056) 2006-10-27 11:12

Hi Sasa,
wow... that's the word that came to my mind when I opened the photo!
Lovely tones and impressive sharpness... Perfect composition. What to add else? Respect :)

pasternak (15185) 2006-10-27 11:18

Stunning again, Sasa. I don't know which version I like most, you are right about the distinction in the colour version, but I think BW has more drama, as this man seems to be attacked by this huge bird! And the one above looks like the Holy Ghost from the Renaissance paintings... How you get these moments, I wonder...

Cheers
Alexander

sined (4523) 2006-10-27 11:24

fantastic point of view ! a full of life picture !

wolf38 (30) 2006-10-27 11:32

Hello sasa. Again a picture worth seeing in B&W. Probably composes. The flying sea gulls have an ideal position. Man. Tree, sea gulls, - everything is correct on the point exactly. A master picture. Many greetings, Wolfgang.

placombe (7715) 2006-10-27 12:02

Hello Sarolta
Awesome image. One in a lifetime. Bravo
Pierre

Clairedelune (4923) 2006-10-27 12:27

A very good photo Sarolta! I know, birds are not that easy to take in picture and to succeed on all plans. They are going fast, wherever they want to go. Your photo do just that: succeed on all plans! Your choice of shutter speed is excellent. The birds are clear, with their wings well spread out, in a very beautiful way. Though the blur can be also very artistic sometimes, I think here you did well not to do. I'm quite impressed too by this little fellow, the one in the foreground, being so close to you. By the way, did you lie on the floor to have such a low-angle view??? ;)
Even without the presence of this man, that would have been good. But then, your photo takes another dimension with his presence. Very story telling now. Though I would have prefer his face less close to the branch (small point).
Now, I think I have a very sligh preference for the color one. For one reason mostly: I think it is a bit easier to differentiate the birds from the background. Though the b&w is a bit more "out of this world"... Decisions... decisions! ;)
Have a great weekend Sasa, maybe with snow!!!
Claire

priyasri_80 (363) 2006-10-27 12:40

Excellent shot. Captured the birds well in air. The color version of the picture is also good.
Priya

syd1946 (1167) 2006-10-27 12:58

Hi Sasa,
Very beautiful image and scene indeed.The movement is ecxellent too.We can see a bird flying in all the positions.The backround with the trees add very much to the frame.Good capture for this Sasa,I prefer the B/w one!

Greetings,
Thomas

AnimeshRay (9089) 2006-10-27 13:52

Terrific photo, Sasa! I cannot begin to critique it. Just fabulous POV and perfect moment. The massive tree behind adds a mysterious backdrop, but I notice how expertly you have placed the man's head in the little clearibng. Were you lying down on the grass?

tcht (7565) 2006-10-27 14:45

Hi Sasa
Brillaint pic, fantastic dynamics and framing. I'm amazed how close you're to the birds, even with the zoom. Apart from the action, this consists of excellent quality of sharpness and detail.Can't really decide whether BW or colour's more enjoyable, but the BW certainly enhances the cold feeling of winter. Fantastic work!
Nice weekend,
CheukHin

aralda (1240) 2006-10-27 15:26

Hello Sasa,
Glad you're posting again.
I'm a fan of the color photo, but this one has a completely different feel to it. The birds are more menacing, everything (except the smile of the man) is so stark... That feel is attenuated in the color version.
I've never seen seagulls so big! Or maybe it's just the photo? I doubt it...
Raluca

dolin (7369) 2006-10-27 15:32

Hi Sasa.
Waouhhhhhhhhhhhhh, impressive !
^C'est tout simplement magnifique !
Le moment est superbement fig�, c'est incroable comme ces mouettes ressortent.
En plus t'as un pov assez fou qui donne sa touche.
Elle est g幯iale ta photo !!!!!
Dans mes favoris
Fred

Ulishna (2268) 2006-10-27 15:39

Hello Sarolta,
very nice and expressive! Very good B&W shot, very expressive birds.
Julia

natwald (0) 2006-10-27 16:37

Are there no end to your talents?!!!
How did you get down so low and get the man, tree and 4 birds at varying depths perfectly composed?

coco (30439) 2006-10-27 16:38

Sasa, Sasa... Colour or black and white this is a magical photo and also moment (also is good Jerzy's photo).
I have two questions:
a) how is possible capture this kind of moment?
b) how is possible make a good capture of these moments?

I don't know the answer, but I can enjoy the photo.
And that's enough.

Thanks for share.

xavshot (69835) 2006-10-27 17:35

Bonsoir Sarolta
f幨icitation pour ce post extra. La compo est supebre et le traitement n&b tr鋊 bien fait. C'est une grande photo, bravo !
Xavier

luisafonso (862) 2006-10-27 17:35

I was browsing the gallery for photos worth critiquing (sorry about that...) and I passed 15 pages without writing a single line. I opened up this one fast enough and only discovered your name beneath it after searching for the author of this tremendous one. I smiled... I looked at the workshop but I prefer this one. The color version is great, it would be the one if you hadn't post this. The b&w has a spiritual mood I can't explain. Don't know if it is the intricate graphical feel of the naked trees and the ghostly birds in front of it. What I really know is that this has an unexplainable 3D feeling. As if the birds were flying in a different layer. Seeing the three of them (I am ignoring a bit the one behind the large one) with its opened wings is a deep religious experience. Thanks for this.

Angelillo (9374) 2006-10-27 18:18

Hi Sarolta,

Very good shot. However the note and the real history, the shot in B&W seems very dramatique. The seagull in foreground, very well captured, make me remember the Alfred Hicthcok's movie, "The birds". It's only a personal feeling. Anyway the shot has a strange beauty, the POV is very original and the technical job (sharpen, light...) is perfect. Thanks!

Angel.

eleparc (24063) 2006-10-27 20:41

this is just incredible that you could get so much piqu� and such sharpness on all those birds using a f4.5... sharp from close to far ... the fore bird seems incredibly close to you too;-) great shot!
Eric

vapours (8264) 2006-10-27 21:30

A pretty special shot Sarolta, amazingly sharp for the aperture you used as well. The mans stance says it all here, the way hes stepping back and in awe at the birds. Well done.

ribeiroantonio (22730) 2006-10-27 22:07

This is an extraordinary picture. The sense of depth given by the seagulls is simply superb. And the placement of the man just in front of the curved branch of the tree is genial. The colour version is excellent as well but I really do prefer the B&W. It adds mood to the scene. Well done.
Antonio

prezntime (3946) 2006-10-27 22:22

Hello Sarolta.
The choice of B&W was interesting here, especially since you always do so well with colors in your photos. I do like this posting very well. The slightly graphic nature of the photograph is heightened by the medium and you DOF is spot on to have wonderful sharpness throughout. The moment here as the man looks up at the one bird flying (it looks like directly) above. Both color and B&W are very well done, but I like the B&W. Nice note as well, I wonder if they found the duck.
Regards,
Chris.

Darren (6823) 2006-10-28 2:19

This is just a fantastic capture of the seagull, nothing else really matters for me. The positioning of the man is also excellent. Can't really decide which I like between the color and the b&w, they both have their strengths. I can't help but wonder if a slightly less contrasty b&w conversion might also be good. Really nice.

brevbrev14 (140) 2006-10-28 5:53

Hi Sasa, very artistic shot!fantastic the flying seagulls and their position in the shot!great focus and POV here!
I prefer your choice of BW, it is more poetic!
Congrats Sasa!
Take care!

Ciao!
Valeria

Paolo (41258) 2006-10-28 7:43

Hi Sasa, fantastic shot, with a perfect exposure to catch the flying birds and a great POV to have inside also the man and the tree.
excellent work.
thanks and have a nice w.e.
ciao

Furachan (0) 2006-10-28 10:24

COmpletely missed this one - extremely well composed but the TIMING! And not only that, the way the lower birs is larger than the man, and so sharp. I'm calling the Nikon poeple right now, LOL! They have got to see this...
All the best,
Francis

lucasdasilva (557) 2006-10-28 12:07

This is such a veri good photo, making me think how you take all these birds in the frame.
Lucas

nwoehnl (122) 2006-10-28 12:15

Hi Sasa. Wow, the thumbnail only gives a vague impression of what the full-size photo is about to bring, it's almost like arriving in the middle of an outtake from Hitchcock's The Birds. Magnificent low angle, and fine illustration of how the guy seems to look in amazement at some of the aerial acrobatics that are on display. Your b&w conversion seems to have left a little bit of the red channel intact which looks quite nice on this one. Enjoy your weekend.

AmiBe (6042) 2006-10-29 7:28

Hi Sasa,
fantastic how you are close of these birds.
The low POV is really great.
The tree is superb without leaves, it fills the sky.
I like the color version as well but this one is more dramatic.
A fav...

naxius (16685) 2006-10-29 8:47

hi Sasa,
Great timing for this photog..
I do not even know how you succeed to have all those birds so neat..This is perfect!
The conversion in b&w is always good from you.
Alex

keribar (43841) 2006-10-29 15:37

Hello Sasa,

This is something believe me, I am really amazed to find such a different picture. Very interesting, and I believe that it wasn't so easy to catch the two birds in the frame with the guy so well placed. Congratulations Best - Izzet

bantonbuju (51815) 2006-10-29 16:10

gosh, ive written 1200 words and they are gone for some reasons, and i was really trying to be clever, intelligent, nice :-))
i dont know what happened that my bright words have not registered finally so let me come back to you tomorrow, as i want to say something about good pople and the ones who decide to [hotograph them;
see you,
j

everlasting (20040) 2006-10-30 3:54

Hi Sasa, to capture one bird so close in flight would have been a triumph, but three!!! Aganist the winter tree that fills the frame and your brave fellow perfectly placed, you cannot fail with this.

a_i_ren (1315) 2006-10-30 16:10

Hi, Sarolta,
Fantastic!!! What a POV! love the patterns of the branches as a background, pefectly frozen movement of those always hungry seagulls! Excellent quality image!
Inna

sayan (2617) 2006-10-31 3:30

Hi Sarolta,

This is terrific post. Wonderful moment captured. Looks nice in b/w.
Regards,
sayan

recepyuksel (18640) 2006-10-31 12:49

Hi Sarolta,
really beautiful composition and perfect timing,
selaam master...

maciekda (19895) 2006-11-01 10:50

wonderful image Sarolta, such a great moment - jpoy on his face, flying seagulls. your composition is excellent, nice B&W treatment as well. beautiful stuff.
you seem to be very good with approaching people. and I guess you don't have problems with pointing your camera at them, true?

Luan (12971) 2006-11-02 16:41

Impressive, how could you succeed to catch in focus the first bird....it is just impressive........................................................................
Fantastic shot

marknunnerley (2780) 2006-11-07 7:32

Hi Sasa,
I was out in Blackpool, England and the seagulls were fying around and I thought how hard it was to capture a good photograph of the flying with an interesting background and then hey presto, you've done it. Excellent work. Brilliant POV as usual.
Mark

MarcioJanousek (18) 2006-11-15 16:25

Excellent capture, great contrast and tones .
Congratulations Gyoker.

Marcelo_Almeida (1044) 2007-01-02 10:56

Simplesmente fant嫳tica,
Parab幯s,
Marcelo Almeida

jimmyjimmy (6164) 2021-03-16 19:37

Hello Sarolta

I am enjoying your B/W work immensely. You have not posted for many years I know. But your work is world class. Just thought a greeting 12 years later would still get to you. Nice work and timing on this image. Great sense of composition in your work.

Jimmy