Tim,
Every birdspotting site has its own set of limitations, and distance
to the birds is a pretty common one. :-(
Mike's comment about floating hides may not be as far fetched as it
seems, if you for example can make a raft that you can anchor, and
which you don't need to submerge yourself in the water.
Kinda like the contraption that I referred to yesterday, that would
make me seasick...:-)
Jostein
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim Øsleby" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 10, 2006 11:53 PM
Subject: Composing on screen vs. in viewfinder.
Those of you reading the list lately may have noticed that I have a
project
going on, that forces me to explore some new land (read learn new
techniques).
How a beeeep should you avoid noticing that? With my endless ranting
questions ;-)
I have been talking about using longer lenses, building hides and so
on.
This has been great fun, and I am learning a lot about photography
and
birds. My longest glass that is usable is 500mm (with converter it
tends to
be too soft), so I have to crop the pictures to make them
interesting.
This has made me realise that I am a lot better at composing in
viewfinder
then I am with composing on computer screen. I have been thinking
about
this. I have some ideas about why.
First:
It is that in the field I compose more on instinct. I am there, and
I have
emotions about the motifs. My heart is involved, and I believe that
it is my
heart that makes the composing decisions. Back at home, the motifs
are more
distant to me, so there I compose by brain (and as you know, that's
not much
of a brain).
The second reason has to do with the decisive moment:
When I shot slides my mind was in "capture mode" (sorry Shel, I know
you
don't like that word). When pushing the button I knew that what is
in frame,
stays in frame, and what is out of frame, stays out. (Everybody who
has
tried masking slides in glassless frames, knows that you do
everything you
can to avoid that activity later).
Now, when shooting digitally, being forced to crop later something
happens
with my mindset. There is no decisive moment in post processing on
computer.
There is always possible to go back.
What I'm saying is that I think I need the decisive moment to make a
good
composition. I also need to be emotionally connected with the motif
in some
way.
But what do I do about this? Practise is one obvious answer. And I
will
practise. But, I also have a strong belief in the power and wisdom
of this
list. I would really surprise me if it doesn't burp up some good
ideas and
advise.
Tim
Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian)
Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds
(Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy)
