Finally, a dry fly :)

[Ben Cochran]

Not sure which one I like the best, just repositioned the back light but it seemed to of changed the look a good bit. Had some White Pine branches shipped sown from Philly for this. Yep, I will ask for about anything LOL

If you have an opinion, including nit pix or not liking either photograph, they are very welcomed and appreciated by me. As alaways: Thank you! 🙂

[Aaron Otto]

Second one feels warmer to me.

[Ben Cochran]

Thanks for the help Aaron, I am kind of swaying in that direction too. As normal though, I am over analyzing everything and the extra eyes help a lot.

Good luck on your shoot as well, I know that you will do great!!

[anonymous]

Ben, are you trying for a natural feel or a studio feel?

#2 doesn’t look natural to me because of the two directions of light, one on the tail from the back, and the other on the hackle and eye from the front. #1 looks more natural since the lighting in the tail is more subdued/reflective.

But, gosh at this level, it’s probably personal taste. It has a nice feel and I definitely like it better than the bugger attempts. Also the bright spots look a little hot, but that may just be the resolution of the image here on the post.

[Aaron Christensen]

I agree with Scott’s comments about the light being a little too strong.

[Ben Cochran]

Fresher eye’s today and I can see exactly what you guy’s are talking about, clearly. I have been putting far to much time and focus on the fly and sacrificed the background due to it, (I know better than this but let myself get blind to it for a bit). I still want to stay with the look and enormous amounts of strobes for lighting approach, on the fly’s, but I also need to get back to the basics of background. I could very easily just shot a strobe onto the fly and bounce light back into to the shadows but I really want to try something different. It’s a learning curve but with time and trying a lot of different things, change happens:)

I like the idea of morning light but I could spend a small fortune on 1/4 CTO gels so, I am going to try a different manual Kelvin setting and see what else I can come up with. As always. I will post the progression and THANKS again for taking the time and posting :).

[Corey Kruitbosch]

Both great shots IMO .. I’d go w/ #2 also …

[Ben Cochran]

Thanks Corey but I am scratching both of them, many things that are technically wrong with them, IMHO. I have been trying to work on several different projects, at once, and decided to give my eye’s a break for a bit, as I am missing to much in composition and observation of detail.

I will repost an updated version soon though as I still believe that others opinions are for to important to not take advantage of any willing persons thoughts :). Thanks again 🙂

[kendal larson]

Gotta add my dos pesos;

I too like #2 – but – it depends on use.

#1 is far better suited for either ad or editorial use, assuming there would be text inserted. It has a more constant background, and all that lovely negative space is what editors and photo editors yearn for, if they’re the type that like to add text to photos that is.

So – my comment is that it’s all about usage.

[Ben Cochran]

Thanks Kendal  🙂

Speaking for myself only, so I am not suggesting this on everyone else’s photography posts, I love the nit picking as I am very detail oriented. Doesn’t mean that I would use all of it but nitpicking helps a photographer see the composition better, before shooting. Again: I strongly mention this again, I am just speaking on my own photographs and post, as no one should have to fear posting their images and critiques should only be offered when asked for by the person posting. So, on mine, feel free  😉

Kendal, these are full-page spreads and will have text but as you know, there are many things wrong with these images. I can see much better after giving my eyes a break from the 16 hour day’s of shooting and post edit on everything else that I am currently working on. I am trying something different on these fly shots but let myself get to focused on the fly’s and sacrificed the background lighting detail a bit too much. I could do something in PS to fix them but I am trying to get back away from that. In the past 8 months, I also did a lot of both location and studio shooting for a Baltic publisher, 29 full page spreads, 1 ¼ page spread and 11 cover shots, all of these had a good amount of graphic design added to them and it forced me to change my style to shooting for the graphic designers, I need and want to get back away from that type of shooting focus.

I am humble and smart enough to know that I am not a great photographer and all of the critiques have helped remind me to include the basics into something that I am also trying to do different. Nitpicking is full of detail and observations, I strongly believe that a good photographer is always willing to learn and look at things differently. They may not all work out for final publication but they serve great as a stored information base that can be applied on other shoots  :).

Like I said, these 2 are scratched, more because I don’t like them enough to want or try and make them work, the next shots will be close to them but should have better justification of elements in them [ch9786]. All of the specially designed strobes are a bit difficult but determination and constant experimentation will come together with time. Helps make photography a bit more enjoyable for me again too [ch9786]

Great to see you back on the board, Kendal and thanks for your comments [ch9786]

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