Icarus by Kirk Jordan

Wednesday, 1st October 2008

Icarus

by Kirk Jordan

Flittering Pipevine swallowtails harvest purple thistle nectar, against a bold August sun, near Mountainburg, Arkansas USA

Equipment: Nikon D-300, 16-85 zoom, pop-up flash

Kirk Jordan

Kirk Jordan is a photographer for the State of Arkansas.
As is, my day job involves a lot of grip and grins of persons in suits, so I relish the after-hours photo ‘hobby’ when I frame Arkansas’ flora and fauna. I particularly like to take pictures of natural things in less conventional ways. I try to press beyond pure naturalism, to suggest the blending of the material and spiritual worlds.

mightyworksproject.blogspot.com

43 Comments

martie Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 1:43 am
Oh my! This is such a joyful picture, it makes me happy just looking at it.
ollie Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:20 am
nice shot. a bit much of the star filter though. nice framing and everything but it just looks extremely photoshoped. i guess thats the look your going for. i looked at what i think is the original on your site and you could have done a little better editing. in this case a little less.other than that its a very colorful and creative shot. good job!
Annie Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:23 am
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing this shot. It’s just the tonic I need to warm up a chilly day and remind me of summer.
Cheri Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 5:19 am
Absolutely stunning! This photograph has captured the untouched summer fields of my youth (even though those fields existed in Minnesota for me)! I love it and am completely mesmerized by the intriguing beauty of the butterflies and flowers. Thank you so very much for sharing!
Anon Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 5:29 am
Beautiful!
Anurag Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 7:06 am
Absolutely, Absolutely……. Amazing.
What an incredible mixture of Flash and natural light!! I never realised that the skinny pop of the D300 -(I am a D 300 user)- was capable of this.
Hats off!
Alex Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 8:05 am
Fantastic, stunning, breathtaking!!! This is what photography is about. One of the very best shots appeared in Earthshots.org… ever!
Congratulations!!!
Lazarina Tcholeva Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 8:10 am
Wowww! Such amazing pic!! Really fantastic! I’d like to have it on my PC’s desktop..
Pauline Jones Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 8:17 am
Great shot and I know you can get blue skies like that without photo shop because I’ve done it. Also photo shop would have affected the browns on the butterflies and particularly the pinks of the thistles. I love this shot; well done.
Malta Photography Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 8:45 am
It is a nice shot really but there is too much evidence of photoshop in it that it almost looks surreal. The filter for the sun, the flowers are too sharpened. Other than that its a great shot, but please do not dishonor photography by too much photoshop.
Thomas Vignaud Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am
Yey surreal shot !
If I really had something to say, it’s that the middle and right green part are a bit too much exposed, but it take nothing to the shot, wonderfull !
poster boy Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 10:01 am
Superb shot! Great colours and a unique image.
Patti-Ann McNeill Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 11:32 am
I must say I agree with the Ollie’s comment - far too much post-processing for a subject that already has a lot of colour and interest. Still, it’s not easy capturing numerous butterflies, and at such an interesting angle, so well done for that!
Paulette Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
That is a spectacular photo.
planet lover Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Photo-shopped or not, I love the sky — sun, clouds, blue– and the Earth so beautifully represented by the thisle and butterflies. Gorgeous planet we live on!
Ellie Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 1:59 pm
There seems to be and has always been a bit of hoopla and too much that says photoshopping is negative. More folks are beginning to understand that PS and processing SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE that go beyond photography probably take more time and learning curve than (ok sorry folks I’m going to say it-don’t run me out of town)basic pre digital era photography; darkroom, chemicals and pans. Would anyone say to Mr Adams if he were still alive; “Ansel, your skies are just too dark, and your trees too hazy looking– looks way too manipulated in your darkroom, what did you do?”
I have read that he did some of the same things without a computer software program. (Archaic, yes)
The saying from people who don’t do this kind of art, or who don’t know how to do it say Anyone can do it. Please.
Beautiful website Kirk, keep up the poetry and praise!
Ellie Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Oh yeah and more importantly;
Beautiful image. Makes me feel joyous!
Susie Wong Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:05 pm
What a wonderful photo - incredibly creative. To be honest, I have no reason to believe this is photoshopped. The vibrant colours, frozen motion and exposure into the sun is all perfectly achievable through good use of flash.
shannon Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:19 pm
i love the colors and everything….even if it is photoshopped (which i dont think it is…i think it’s actually possible to get this amazing of a shot)its sooo amazing and breathtaking…i love it.
Bala Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Simply wonderful
cabriolil Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I thought this site was about bringing to life the beauty of our earth through photography rather than a photography website about the earth’s beauty.

Deception is the issue here, is it not? Do you want to require that photographers making submissions to this site state explicitly whether or not they manipulated the image after they took it? If not, leave it alone. Let’s get back to “celebrating the beauty and diversity of our planet.”
jacques bégin Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I am kind of happy of not being technically educated about photography because when I see beauty on that level, my fascination is not filtered by cerebral analysis and I don’t want to loose that attribute. There must me experts so we can be better at it but … but it is also nice to see with untaught delight such marvel. This morning, in Québec, it’s raining and the sky is so dark that this photo gave me a shot of vitamin D. Merci bien Kirk.
Michael Ray Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I agree with the others. But,I also think some critasism helps develope skills as well. None the less We all started this journey to bring beautiful, wonderful images of this beautiful world we live in to others and ourselves and I think this was done wonderfully. Great job Kirk.
rosa Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
really, really beautiful
Yvonne in Arkansas Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Stunning!
Kirk Jordan Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Thanks to all for the many delightful comments. I certainly experienced joy taking the image. As for post processing - I may have over-saturated the colors, but everything else is real. (I have been critical of others using too much post-process in the past, so I should be open to the same challenge) As is, I did NOT use a star filter, though the lens was closed down and flared. Part of the tampered feel has to do with fill-flash into the sun.
Bart van den Bos Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 5:39 pm
verry nice picture,
Renee Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Very beautiful indeed Kirk! simply amazing
Marie Dunphy Harding Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I have no claim with the expertise of my fellow commentators, I think this is simply a beautiful photo.
Sparts Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I love it!

Simply the best picture to make it onto this site for as long as I can remember.

Well done.
JAC Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Fantastic shot…
Britelite Says:
October 1st, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Exquisite! My favorite Photographer!!!! From The Butterfly Lady!!!!!
Petunia Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:21 am
Thanks Kirk, I really like this and I don’t care if it’s photoshopped or not, it just works.
Anurag Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:46 am
Photoshop is integral to photography now. And Naysayers risk being left out. Don’t be to old to learn, except the inevitable I’d say.
“The old order changeth…. Period”
khaleedo Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:36 am
such a wonderful relaxing spring pic. keep up the good work
khalid
Malta Photography Says:
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I agree with you Anurag I entirely do but our responsibility is to keep a balance just like nature does. It gives us all her tastes winter then summer, a balance. Photoshop is today’s’ dark room so yes it is the way to go but with good control thus without editing too much rendering a wonderful image like this one, surreal.
Sue Gagnon Says:
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:03 am
Excellent photography, Kirk. This is a supurb image, no matter HOW you slice it.

People will be people. Criticism is like the wind. It matters not to the bottom line. If this website is for diverse ‘photography’, which it is, and quality imagery is the ‘goal’ it has achieved it’s goal.
Anurag Says:
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:27 am
Of course Ruben, Photoshop is a tool. Just like a Hammer & chisel. Either you can carve out the Venus with it, or you can use it to bring down a brick wall.
:-)
joe ullman Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 2:13 am
when I saw this, i simply said “oh my God” out loud to no one in particular. This is beyond criticism and THIS is what photography is all about. Wonderful.
Derek Dobbie Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
A lot of interesting comments on this image. If it is real and not photoshopped then it is indeed a great photograph of nature. But you know that is the problem with digital photography - done well - you cant tell what is real and what is not. In the UK we have a photo contest called - Wildlife Photographer of the Year - you may have heard of it - and images digitally altered are not allowed - and guess what - this comp is the leader in its field.
Kinan Jarjous Says:
October 7th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
this is impossibly beautiful… great shot, with grat technique and luck!
yasmin Says:
October 9th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Very beautiful! brings back summer vibes as well as joyful and free-spirited ones! Amazing
yasmin Says:
October 18th, 2008 at 3:31 am
Amazing