Hi David, the find of the owls is creating some nice source material for posting, great, I'm pleased for you.
OK, as I know you tend to have an inquisitive mind let me pose this question which is never questioned on the Forum or indeed on many, but worth a moments thought, however a little bit of background to my thought.
Before the big launch of computers like most things, everything had to be done by hand and you either commissioned an image or sourced it from a photo library. Most images were/are use, come from a photolibray where you send a request in with some parameters of what you are looking for, a photo researcher would go off, three days later a bundle of say 25 images would arrive from say Getty which you then selected from, now it's all on line and within 30 minutes you have what you want, far easier and electronic to the approximate size you require. Those images were all duplicates and never had any writing on then or notches, so unless there was writng in the transparency (ie a sign, label and number etc...) you could not tell which way the image was originally shot, so as a designer or art director you had to make the choice, as no one new apart from the photographer and the likelihood of he/she ever seeing it in publication was very slim.
So my question is, 99% of the time the images we take are perfect the way we shot them, but occasionally if we
'flip' them, does it make a difference???? If this was a double page spread then yes, because you want the subject on the RHS with the editorial on the left, why, because when we flick through a magazine we tend to look at the RH pages more and they command or used to, more money.
Therefore, based on the above, does your image look/appear/sit better flipped? As soon as we import an image and change things ie WB we are manipulating the file, therefore if by flipping an image it enhances it in a positive way then why not.
I might prune the buttercup by the rock, mask some of the darker spots in the FG and perhaps the green just above the head, all cosmetic and personal choice. You could increase
slightly the overall exposure, up the greens a little and bring some light/life into the eyes, perhaps a tad more below, and some more NR, again just my thoughts.
If this is a regular site you visit David and being low to the ground perhaps the owls will get to tolerate you more and offer the option to get a fraction closer, or use and extender to get closer, to avoid hefty crops and retain better IQ.
TFS
Steve
