Date Joined: 8 August 2002 Hello My name is Daniel O'Byrne, ÂÂ
The belief that a good photograph is the result of a good camera places the importance upon the equipment rather than upon the photographer. It emphasizes the machine rather than the man, the tool rather than the artist, the technology rather than the artistic intent. It is as if Monet had been told that the reason why his paintings were so beautiful was because he had such good paintbrushes. Or as if Paul Bocuse’s culinary excellence was explained away by his use of superlative pots and pans. Or again if Yo-Yo Ma had been informed that his Stradivarius was solely responsible for the stunning quality of his music.ÂÂ
One can be inspired and have an idea, be very creative in making this idea into a work of art, have developed the required level of craftsmanship, without the outcome of one’s efforts being motivated by the desire to follow a vision for one’s entire body of work. Vision is an overriding envelope that encompasses both inspiration and creativity. It is a blanket that covers the entire artist’s work, a blanket that often comes later in the life of an artist, after one has perfected one’s art and moved beyond the commonplace outcome that most artists have to go through. For this reason I placed vision as the third step of this process. I placed it there not because it comes necessarily at the end of the process but because in life it is often something that artists discover later on.
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Certainly, a master needs a masterful instrument, be it a camera, paintbrushes, pots and pans or a violin, as in my examples, or other tool, since this list can be expanded to include many other professions. But to say that the quality of the art is caused solely by the quality of the instrument is to miss the point altogether about the importance of the artist. It is missing the point about the human factor, about the man or the woman that actually made use of this instrument. After all, art is made by artists and not by tools. Tools are inanimate objects that need someone to set them in motion. And to set a tool in motion so that art is created through the use of this tool, an artist is needed.
I am now retired from working as a Mental Health professional having worked in the Royal Air Force and National Health Service, giving me more time to persue my photography and artwork. I am a Semi Professional Photoghrapher. Here you will find a collection of my photographs and a selection of Digital Art, Traditional Painting and Sketches that I have also used the digital medium to enhance. Please feel free to pass on any comments. My Camera Gear
http://www.renderosity.com/news.php?viewStory=13527 Here you can find my personal website: DIGITALARTZONE Contact me: E-Mail Artwork for sale: My work Tips and tricks: Nature and wildlife Photography Tips and tricks: Bird Photography
Comments (48)
nathalie06
Fantastic shot for a good celebration ! I love this shot, and to see this incredible bird. That's a wild and superb composition Danny, and this sky with these colors are perfect for this splendid guy ! So lovely work my friend. Hugs, and have a good week.
kimariehere
you have done a remarkable work !!! BEAUTIFUL!!! your postwork is brilliant and senstational!!... Wonderfully done and that capture is too beautiful!! WOW!! V!
Laelia
marvellous ! yeah !! free !!!! that converges with my last post, maybe q:)
Valerie-Ducom
wowww, excellent work and good celebration!!! good day and kiss
SoulSearcherr
no words to describe the beauty..congrats..S
jared99
That is such a gorgeous image!! Excellent work!
Undertaker
Great work.
tmathise
It's a splendid work Danny! My only caveat? The lighting on the bird appears to be essentially directly overhead, while the sun is obviously setting behind and below the level of the bird, creating the illusion that the kite was being lit from 2 distinct light sources. It's a fantastic image nonetheless! Have a marvelous day, in spite of my constructive criticism my friend! Your work is beautiful!
Onslow
I like the composition and concept here !
Cosme..D..Churruca
Fascinante ! Outstanding image !
soulofharmony
love the colours of the sky.. and gorgeous composition dan... outstanding:)
ilutegija
really looks like unreal...
DELMUR
beautifull collage ! LOVe a lot!
nattarious
WOOOOOOOOW Daniel!! This is a real outsanding postwork tho.. And that wild bird is a real wild looking at me tho.. As per the main concept and composition as i mentioned before it is almost a masterpiece and at the same time i agree with: tmathise. I can also see and or tell when i looked at it first time, it is a nice attempt of manipulation! I can see that your lovely bird (MAIN OBJECT) is extracted from a lighter background, i see that on the little tiney white line around it (The Edges).. The extraction it self is perfectly done tho.. But when you come to this point, you need to use the: FEATHER option from the SELECT menu in your Photoshop Program is you use one,and set it to: 0.2 - 0.5 depends on your needs. That will help to blend the edges abit.. You will still be able to see some lines. So if you are extracting from a dark background the edges will be black. And when you extract from a ligher backgroung the edges will be ligher to white.. In that case we can use the: Matting option under the LAYER MENU, Remove black matte for the dark edges and or remove white for the lighter ones. it help a lot tho.. And you might need to blend it a bit as well.. Now regarding the sun light comming from behind on the left.. Leaving the top of the lovely bird reflecting the light is ok tho.. But its face can't be left like that.. Then you can add some burn tool to it or darken it a little bit or even you can add manual shadow.. Other then that!! It is still so pro and thank you so much for this post.. It is amazing and your STOCK rock!! Here is a big vote for the best Daniel and wish you a lovely day my friend.
rainbows
Sublime work Danny, I am glad he is back with you, in Wiltshire. I am loving that sky too :-) hugs. Excellent, without a single doubt!!!
DCLEW2
That is a pretty cool look, I agree with everything written so far and would add that there is still some lighter sky in between two feathers that stands out to me. Otherwise beautiful work!
Fotogen
Awsome capture and post work.
1010
Stunning!!!!!!!!!!!!
girsempa
It's a fantastic image as a whole... I just feel you need to blur out or blend out some of the edges with a 3point soft brush; then, you could create a new layer, blur the image (quite strongly) and use the Color mode dropdown, so that only the color of the sky bleeds through on the bird. Excellent work Danny!!
danob
Thanks I have carried out some of the suggestions and can redo any as we go along all very helpful and thanks very much
Dianthus
Hmm i think the sky takes away from the bird. Where as i feel its the bird that should be the main focus. IMO. But would love to see the original version. Also the edges of the bird could be made softer. But is still awesome as always:)
VicTheSwede
I am amazed!
pm_hackworth
VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
glennn23
LOL, I have never seen so much constructive criticism on one piece. Must be that you really hit on something! I think the crit. is essentially right, however, there is a magical quality to the image that seems to bring it above this crit. To me it could be that the bird appeared by magic, or that the bird radiates a beauty of it's own, represented by the seemingly out of place lighting. The point is, beauty, imagination, faith; all of these are part of the magic of art! Beautiful image Dan, and have a great night +++
Richardphotos
that is a kite? never seen one like that. excellent isolation and sky
hotracer2
I think you have done a wonderful job, might darken the areas at the tail, great job:):)..V
Margana
This is lovely,Danny.It has a very painterly/poster-type commercial look to it...and as such,it works quite well for me.Your composition is wonderful and inspiring to look at.Best of luck to you with this and mega-congrats on getting this commission.I can't think of anyone better suited for it.All of your work is wonderful.-M :^)
npauling
Wow that is a wonderful shot. I find it so hard to get a bird to stand still when it is flying!!! I'm sure whoever the commission is for will be delighted with this picture. Thats a great sky background.
Punaguy
I had to look at this more than once Dan, it really is eye catching...your PW on this one really makes it a remarkable image and who ever commisioned you for this should be thoroughly pleased...Congrats on your commision you are certainly deserving of it! Aloha!
Hopalong
Like the kite, it soars wild-eyed and easy, cunningly matched with sunrise sky....one of your best!