Swan with the top of his head cropped off

[Radtech1]

Marcia and I were out for a walk the other day, down by the lake in Irvine. At first this looks like a "throwaway" to me, as the top of his head is cut off. But, the more that I looked at it, the more I liked it. Especially, I like a movement on the wing and the fact that the movement is the opposite direction that he is facing. If I had any idea what I was talking about, I would say that that creates "a dynamic tension" in the image.

Any thoughts?

http://users.adelphia.net/~radtech1/Photos/DrinkingSwan.jpg

[Meerkat17]

I like it and don't feel that because the head is partially cropped it detracts in any way. The blurred movement of the wing compliments the out of focus background yet the subject is tight even down to the drops of water from its beak.

Well done

David

[CyberDyneSystems]

Well,.. sorry Radtech,. but for me the crop does detract from what would other wise be a fantastic image..

I think you are spot on in all that you yourself have described in the image,. the motion, the curve of the neck (you just have to love swans for that)

It has all the makings of a very nice dramatic image...

If only the lens had been wider,. or you were back two more feet..

It is not about rules here, which are, as allways, made to be broken.. but the crop may not destroy the otherwise exceptional image,. but it does detract.

Fill flash to catch the eye would have been a home run too.

[KO_300D]

I think the cropping at the top is a little unfortunate, however why not take advantage of it and crop further!

this way all that parts that were cut out look deliberate

Maybe something similar to this?

http://www.tobie.co.uk/Pictures/swan.jpg

[Tom W]

The original cropping is unfortunate. But the follow-up crop by KO_300D takes advantage of the situation. The original is a good picture, but the further cropping really brings it into the very good+ realm.

Nice job, both of you. :D