Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Green Anole
Comments:
Rather more colourful than any lizard we get.
All my thoughts about this picture are sadly technical ones - good separation of subject despite green on green etc. The tail very nearly creates a different sort of picture, but the loss of sharpness gets in the way.
Until it was pointed out, I hadn't really taken in that the tail was soft. I'm not sure whether that means that it isn't important or not! I suppose that reading the picture from bottom to top does mean that there is an impact and if the lizard was the other way up or, even better, on a diagonal then one would accept it.
But he is wearing such a glowing, Robin Hood suit of green that the tail, literally, winds its way out of the story. It's that glow, and the delicate blue of the eye, that makes the picture almost tactile.
A wonderful study in green and the amount of detail shown of this little guy in this picture is wonderful. A nature lesson on how to blend in and stay alive.
The loss of sharpness in the tail wouldn't bother me if I could see all of it. I really want to see the end of that tail.
When I first looked at this I took it out of the Nature Genre because the tail was not complete. Having done that the lack of sharpness in the tail doesn't bother me. The tail looks like a hook that hangs the green thingy in the image.
Again this has one of your 'perfect' backgrounds. Do you carry it round with you?
All the comments on the tail interest me -- I was unaware of such strict rules for a "Nature Genre" -- -- might be a good thing for me to understand in the future.
About the background, Rex -- simple -- I just go to www.background-depot.com. ;-)
But that does bring up a point -- had the tail been in focus, that background would not have been so "perfect" anymore -- one big reason I composite images of small subjects instead of just using flash and a smaller aperture. Apparently that would have been a good thing to do here had the anole posed long enough for it.
I'm not an expert in the rules but those that pursue Nature do have a set of rules that they work by.
There does seem to be an expectation that all of the subject should be in focus, if possible. I think the thing here is that the tail is roughly in the plane of the sensor so the tail being out is not 'deliberate'. I.e. if you had done a 'face' on image there would be no way the tail would be expected to be in focus.
It is still a great image.
This looks pretty much perfect for me. The trailing DOF works well given that you focus on the eye and then gradually drift off up the picture. The strong vertical branch holds this all together. It beautifully bisects the background whilst given the anole something to pose on. Is there a hint of an enigmatic grin? The tail trail also breaks up the background. Its curve combined with its softness adds a smooth finish which contrast well with the sharp detail in the lower sections of the shot.
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All my thoughts about this picture are sadly technical ones - good separation of subject despite green on green etc. The tail very nearly creates a different sort of picture, but the loss of sharpness gets in the way.
But he is wearing such a glowing, Robin Hood suit of green that the tail, literally, winds its way out of the story. It's that glow, and the delicate blue of the eye, that makes the picture almost tactile.
Again this has one of your 'perfect' backgrounds. Do you carry it round with you?
About the background, Rex -- simple -- I just go to www.background-depot.com. ;-)
But that does bring up a point -- had the tail been in focus, that background would not have been so "perfect" anymore -- one big reason I composite images of small subjects instead of just using flash and a smaller aperture. Apparently that would have been a good thing to do here had the anole posed long enough for it.
There does seem to be an expectation that all of the subject should be in focus, if possible. I think the thing here is that the tail is roughly in the plane of the sensor so the tail being out is not 'deliberate'. I.e. if you had done a 'face' on image there would be no way the tail would be expected to be in focus.
It is still a great image.