Stills

Michael - this was taken at the beginning of May. Shearing doesn't normally take place on higher ground in the West of the UK until June. We should be shearing this weekend.
 

To me this so very nearly works, but I think that in concentrating on the shadow, the main animal has become a prop rather than a living being. The faces of the other sheep only partly compensate for the lack of a face on animal number one.

It is difficult to be sure at this scale, but it looks like the point of focus is on the ground (for the shadow) and this results in a loss of detail along the sheep's back. Anyway, something is causing that fine coat to be less than sharp. My eye keeps trying to resolve detail that isn't there.

I suppose I find this all confusing. What is this a photograph of? If it is the shadow, then the composition distracts. If it is the animal then the focus and lack of a face distracts.

On a more agricultural note - the field that surrounds our house currently has Suffolks in it.
 

I think that the texture of the fleece is a result of movement blur, being in a different plane to the shadow; it should all be in focus for DOF (I think). Sheep are very uncooperative and once one starts to take pictures, they don't do any of the things that attracted one to take the photos in the first instance! I rather liked the idea of them being crowded together and the swirl of motion, with various curves, but this is probably not the best example by the look of it.
 

I do find the two other sheep a distraction but I'm a fan of the sheep (I am sure that should be shep) and its shadow in the foreground. I'm not particularly bothered about sharpness of detail in this one because my attention is entirely held by the way the sheep is turned into a chicken!

Look at the shadow. Chicken!

(Ok, perhaps a cockerel then or even a turkey).
 

It took me a while but I see it now - very good! You must have done lots of that at school!
 

t took me a while but I see it now - very good! You must have done lots of that at school!
 

I keep seeing the shadow as a second head and neck, which makes me think this is some cloning experiment gone horribly wrong.
 

My opinion of this images changes depending on the monitor in use. I use three.

It looks at its best, with the maximum differentiation between the three sheep and the shadow, on my laptop. All three monitors have had 'simple' calibration done and I'm beginning to think I should do 'advanced' and then perhaps the differences will be minimised.

I do like JohnJo's observation of the shadow which had escaped me and I had struggled with my own interpretation of the image. I had noticed the two outriders supporting the main character.

The comments on sharpness/DoF etc, my observation on photographing animals with 'fur' it that the E1 autofocus is often defeated or settles for a false focus. One of my first outings with the E1 produced a lot of OoF close-ups of New Forest ponies. I was completely oblivious to the lens hunting and the lack of a focus beep in all my excitement.
 

Rex - a technical one: I was using manual focus at f9 and am fairly certain that the 'effect' on the fleece is movement. More generally, I now use my E-1 like an OM-1 with a histogram! I was never keen on the auto facilities, particularly exposure, something that the E-500 is reputed to have got very much better.

As to the photo, I think that we all have our own 'polarising' filters hard-wired into our brains and so, for instance, someone can see a cockerell at first glance whereas others may struggle to see it even when told. For those who find the 'outriders' excessive I can only say that, usually, my preference is for a busier photo and in this particular case, the additions seemed better than a single sheep. As I said previously, I was after swirling movement and lines (eg from the white head to the head of the shadow). I think that Auspicious probably has the closest analysis to what my own thoughts were; certainly the slight blur did worry me, whereas the turned-away head I saw as an advantage.

Thanks for the comments, which have helped make a choice for our first internal society competition. The subject is 'shapes and shadows' - not my favourite photographic subject (for me to do - others always do it better!)
 

Blast!

Just as I pushed the submit button I realised that my last paragraph was going to say something along the lines of "John will not tell me that he always uses manual focus" and I'd left it off!

:-)
 

not=now
 

Well, you were right, Rex!
 

This image is going to cost me a lot of money. It beautifully demonstrated that my old CRT monitor is just that.......old, and needs replacing.
 

We all have to do it - upgrade! It's known as capitalism! I find my Eizo L568 pretty good - but it must last more time than my old CRT otherwise this business becomes too expensive.
 

Two many black sheep for my taste! The white one is steeling all my attention. Using his nose to get in the picture. Classic sheep operational tactics.