Crows

I have mentioned on previous occasions that I have been using Picasa 3 to make new images from photos. A few days ago I saw a crow that was calling out from the top of a nearby tree . Photographing crows is always a challenge but on a dull, cloudy day it was almost impossible. When I made the first image I knew the scene would be dark and the crow would be a silhouette. I tried to get it in focus while it was cawing - I wanted an image with its beak open. Minutes later another crow called out from a different tree and I made a few photos of that one as well.

When I downloaded them I used some special effects to make interesting images. The first image is the original dark image. The second was created from the original using the Graduated Tint Effect in Picasa 3. The third was created using a couple of different effects. I remember creating a similar image in the darkroom when doing my master's degree in the early 80s and that it took nearly a full day to make it. In Picasa, you can make these quickly once you experiment with the Effects a little.