The Mallard drake (right) curled up at my feet while I was feeding the millpond ducks. It gave me a chance to get a symmetrical view of him from above that highlights his perfect shape and the pattern of his feathers. Through lots of steps that changed the colors and textures within it, I transformed that photograph into the desktop pattern you see above that I’ve titled, WaterWings. You’re welcome to download it and use it in any way you wish. It’s a large file (608k) and measures 1920 x 1200 pixels.
I make it a point to create images like this to keep my point of view fresh and explore new visual possibilties. I think of them as “experiments” rather than finished works of art. This one, for example, is an interesting combination of unusual and not totally harmonious colors that suggests birds and water, but the composition itself is less satisfying. I like the level of detail, but all of the lines lead to a center of focus beyond the edge in the upper left; not a good thing. It’s done and time to move on to the next challenge when I photograph something that lends itself to other visual possibilities.
Digital cameras are great. You can take boatloads of shots and delete all but the few keepers. It’s also fun to resuscitate crappy ones like this.