The Shot Chat | I. The Case of the Blurry Cormorants

Let The Shot Chat Begin…

Shane Gross: Here goes... this image doesn't work for me. I like the fact that there are 3 cormorants and I like their positions. I like the cliff in the background. But the large overexposed portion means its impossible to enjoy any of that. The motion blur almost works, but more detail in the main subject would help a lot.

Jade Hoksbergen: In a nutshell, I want to like the image, but there is something that doesn't quite work for me. What I like about it is that there is something reminiscent of Van Gogh. Van Gogh, with his broad and dramatic brush strokes, created a sense of movement in his work. That sense of movement is wonderfully captured in this picture, with the shoal of fish transforming into abstract movement... transforming into broad "brush strokes," if you will. For me, what it lacks is a compelling primary subject. The image would work if it served as a backdrop to an enticing foreground subject - if only the enticing foreground subject was there.

Grant Thomas: I like the concept of using a slow shutter speed to convey motion in the image however, I feel that it hasn't quite worked in this case due to the cormorant being slightly too blurred (possibly a difference in speed between cormorant and camera panning or too slow a shutter speed). Composition wise I actually quite like the breakdown of the frame with the dark water and fish on the left and the brighter sky on the opposing corner with cliff reflecting through. I do think it would have had more visual appeal if the sky had been less over exposed but can understand if shot on an overcast day that this may have not been possible.

Anita Kainrath: I love the cool colours - the dark around the edges but it's too bad that it was maybe a cloudy day so there is a lot of white / or it's overexposed on the upper right side.. I really like slow shutter speed images as it adds an extra touch to see animals in their movement but for me personally it's a little 'too' blurry - a tiny bit more sharpness on at least one of the cormorants would have been nice but that's only my opinion.

Henley Spiers: “Good to get your input, well, bad as far as the image goes but deep down I feel the same about this image not quite working. A bit of background: this is shot off Los Islotes where a sardine shoal will gather around the rocky island and you can reliably see cormorants predating on them. With the opportunity for multiple reps, I was trying to really push the boat out by not just capturing a sharp image of the speedy cormorants in action, but to incorporate motion blur in the frame. This composition grabbed my eye as having potential, and i do enjoy the golden brown hues of the nearest cormorant, as well as the interplay between its tail and feet...but to be honest I had to push the editing really hard to get it to this point. The image is too soft, the lack of anything truly sharp lets it down...it's one of those where in my gut I know it's not quite there but I really wish it was, as all the elements were there, and in my pursuit of this failed experiment I lost the opportunity for stronger shots but with less ambitious technicality.”

Is this image good for anything? If so, what? If not, is it an idea worth continuing with?

Shane Gross: “It's a great idea, might just have to wait for dusk or a darker day...or the school of fish blocking more of the sky. I don't see this image as stock or portfolio or competition...so not sure where it could fit. Maybe a presentation as an image that almost works and explain why it doesn't. Or a thing where people critique each others images ... I appreciate the risk taking, but that's the thing about risk, it can easily not work.”

Grant Thomas: “I still think your image would come in very handy for teaching techniques on slow shutter/blur techniques etc...”