Pretty interesting shot you got here, Mark. So many things worked beautifully here for me. The color of the fake bird against the light blue sky really made your main subject stand out. If it is a coincidence, the number (4) of the birds balances the density of the fake bird against the white ones. A lot of leading lines! I'm glad you decided not to increase the contrast much to make the shot looked overcooked. My very, very small nit if I may is that the main subject seems to be too centered on the composition. Other than that this is a very good image for me. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by jiro Pretty interesting shot you got here, Mark. So many things worked beautifully here for me. The color of the fake bird against the light blue sky really made your main subject stand out. If it is a coincidence, the number (4) of the birds balances the density of the fake bird against the white ones. A lot of leading lines! I'm glad you decided not to increase the contrast much to make the shot looked overcooked. My very, very small nit if I may is that the main subject seems to be too centered on the composition. Other than that this is a very good image for me. Thanks for sharing.

yes, and there is a very good reason why it was centered. On a rocking, moving boat, I'm not clever enough or quick witted enough to do anything more than brace myself, center focus, and pray for the best!

Thanks for the kind words. It is pretty close to SOOC.

Originally Posted by MarkR yes, and there is a very good reason why it was centered. On a rocking, moving boat, I'm not clever enough or quick witted enough to do anything more than brace myself, center focus, and pray for the best! Thanks for the kind words. It is pretty close to SOOC.

Sometimes, getting an information about the shot makes me appreciate the image more. I haven't had the chance to shoot from a moving boat so I'd say you really did a pretty good job on this one.

Ha! Good grab Mark...

Originally Posted by MarkR yes, and there is a very good reason why it was centered. On a rocking, moving boat, I'm not clever enough or quick witted enough to do anything more than brace myself, center focus, and pray for the best! Thanks for the kind words. It is pretty close to SOOC.

but a re-crop could make it uncentered

Originally Posted by PhotoDavid78 but a re-crop could make it uncentered

This is true. It's not like I'm lacking pixels to do so!

OTOH, I read once (in the More Joy of Photography) that centering your subject can increase the humor of a situation. Not sure if this is the case for this one or not. I'll play around when I have time.