Winner Chosen - November 2012 - Admin's choice - Image of the month

**Marko** · 12-08-2012, 05:22 PM

Hi members,

In case you are new around here this is where the Admin (me) chooses one excellent photo each month from all the photos nominated by other members during that month in the Member's monthly choice forum.

Just so it's clear, the photo I choose is not necessarily the best one of the month. I've come to realize it's not really logical to pit images from totally different genres against each other. That's why there are categories in photo contests.

My goal is to simply choose an excellent photo and talk about why I think it rocks.

This month's choice is Pre-flight Wing Check by Hillbillygirl

I chose this image for several reasons:

1 - Composition - I like the way the image is cropped overall. The bird is obviously the focal point but those background grasses or leaves are a lovely touch and help pull the planes of the image together. I like how the tones of the green grasses are matched with the bird's feathers.

2 - Selective focus - I really like the use of selective focus here. The wings are tack sharp and the wing-pattern really stands out. The blurred background helps the bird pop.

3 - Timing - A nice and fast shutter speed helped freeze the wings and water droplets near the bird's back. We get a feel for the bird's next movements by freezing the bird's wings so well. Despite a fast shutter speed though, a moment like this is over or changed for the worse in the blink of an eye, so good on Hillbillygirl for capturing it.

For all these reasons, this is my choice for image of the month. Since we all have opinions, some members may disagree with my choice. That's cool but THIS thread is not the place for debate over my pick, NOR is it the place to further critique the image. The purpose here is to suggest strong elements in the photo that we may learn from.

Congrats again Hillbillygirl!