Date Joined: 8 August 2002 Hello My name is Daniel O'Byrne, Â
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.Â
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)
dragonmuse
Lovely little creature. It seems smaller than I had always thought though.
amlondono
So beautiful.............. excellent photo of gorgeous bird ! Thanks , Ana
sharky_
Beautiful Bird. Aloha
Jofurowa
1/30s with 400mm, tell me you had a tripod to get such a good picture. The colors are amazing.
carlx
Wonderful little bird!!!
artaddict2
incredibly dificult to capture these birds, detail and colour is stunning with this one. Thanks for the information, I walk in the countryside alot, I have only ever seen maybe three or four Kingfishers and usualy they are just a bright blue flash of colour, with a blink of the eye they are gone.
rockstrider
Beautiful colours in this little fella and wonderful composition! Great capture Danny!
fourbanger
fantastic shot of this little critter.Beautiful color
42n8
What a fantastic shot. Great news too, i hope i get to see one then I've always wanted to see a kingfisher in real life, i'll be looking out for them now lol.
adonise
Wonderful bird, nicely colors...
BorisB
A fabulous shot, really excellent!!
nongo
So fun to watch dive too!!!!!! excellent image!!!
aljaysart
Beautiful capture Dan, i seen one the other day in our local country park such a beautiful bird but i never got to capture him as he was to far away,notice that this one has a ring on his leg.Excellent.
mark.spooner
A beautiful capture, I've always loved Kingfishers.
Blush
I have always thought the Kingfisher reminds me of the hummingbird family Maybe because they are so little colorful and have that long beak... This is a fav with me Hugs Susan~
inshaala
I heard about their strong numbers on the news one day. Nice little fellow you got here, looks like you were at the limit of the shutter speed available ;) Looks a bit soft on full size for the detail i know is there... but love the soft one-coloured background and the simple subject + diagonal compo thing you got going :)
bpclarke
What a little beauty there! Excellent capture. Bunny
rainbows
This is good news indeed Danny, cannot wait to see my first in real! A wonderful capture. He is a total delight. Hugs. DiDi. xx
iaacf
I hope to get this beauty in front of my lenses once.. a beautiful capture !
JaneEden
Fantastic capture Danny of one of my most favourite birds, thank you for sharing this one - hugs Jane xx
TomDart
Your kingfisher look a little diffeent from ours but certainly similar. related, surprisingly to the kookaberra. Quite a nice bird shot.
tommorules
Just a hint of motion blur as suggested above (even Canon's legendary IS struggles at 1/30s @ 400mm hehe), but such a beautiful bird is always a crowd pleaser & you have a great pose and compo here.
MedTran39
Beautiful bird! Great capture!
RobyHermida
Magic, wonderful !!!!!!!!!!!! Beautiful work. Roby ;O)
toddaking
Excellent picture, great color, beautiful bird. Todd
Zorg1955
fantastic capture and I know why !!!! This "Martin Pècheur" is so hard to capture...Excellent danny , a great one !
kansas
Beautiful vivid colors! A beautiful bird. Excellent photo.
tofi
You certainly do manage to capture the most interesting and unique of species in your photographs! This perspective is so beautiful, and so natural! His colour is most lovely, as is his texture. He seems quite content, perched up in his own little private space. Superb photograph!
Gor111
A beautiful portrait of this proud and colorful looking Kingfisher! Wonderfully taken!!!
kgb224
Lovely bird and a excellent capture.