This image proved interesting once I’d downloaded it.
I hadn’t noticed the almost mirrored compositional structure of the birds legs and the budding twigs when I was taking the photograph at the time. Sometimes it’s all about luck and this was just such a case. I think it works beautifully and really like the play between the two areas, with the twigs echoing the feet but on a larger scale. It also dictates the framing of the image and if the twigs had not produced this mirrored effect I would have placed the Pipit more towards the left of the image, giving it more space to ‘move’ into the frame.
Tim
I agree with your thought processes. There is a lovely art balance in the original image as you explain – and is truly exceptional.
However, I cannot make up my mind between first and last images, and it has something to do with the furthest right vertical branch.
On balance, it may be based on the conditioning effect of viewing numerous bird images, but I think I prefer the last image if only for the space in the RHS., but then the vertical branch becomes more distracting….
Julian
You may be right Julian that the position of the Pipit is just a little awkward in the original. I’ll try extending the canvas and cloning the background to see what we end up with. It will also raise the question about how much alteration can be made to an image before it becomes digitally manipulated.