Baltimore Oriole - Suggestions?

[Earl Orf]

I like the rich color of the bird but I think making the background lighter would make the bird stand out more. Do you agree? If so, I welcome suggestions for how to do that.

Taken in my backyard in Northern Minnesota on 5/16/2008.
Nikon D300 70-400mm zoom lens at 400 mm ISO 800 1/320 sec f 7.1

[Paul Pagano]

Hi Earl, you might add some flash to this to brighten up the exposure. Seems a bit under-exposed on my monitor. A bit of sharpening to the Oriole would be good too. If you are inclined, you could get 'radical' and clone out all of the stick above the Oriole (just leaving the perch part) and then blue the background some more. If you don't mind, I could post a version of what I am talking about.

[Earl Orf]

That would be great, Paul.

Earl Orf

[Doug Brown]

Very pretty bird Earl and the BG is nice, but the branch over the bird has got to go. It should be easy to remove, and it sounds like Paul is going to do it for you. Looking forward to seeing the repost. I agree that some more sharpening would help this image. I don't mind the exposure. Thanks for posting.

[Paul Pagano]

Earl, this would be a start. I think adding light though takes away from it. I just removed the branch. Remember when looking at this that you know it was there.....

[Stephen Stephen]

Earl, nice Oriole but Paul has really helped you eliminate that branch which was overpowering the bird IMHO

[Steve Maxson]

The bird is very nice, Earl. Nice pose, good color, and sharp. As others have noted, the perch was really pretty awful. :) Paul's repost is a huge improvement. If this was taken at a feeder setup, you have the opportunity to find a better looking perch for the next time.

[Arthur Morris]

Excellent re-post by Paul, and right-on perch comments by Steve. At least the oriole was nice and sharp to begin with.

[Robert Amoruso]

Agree with the perch issue and with Artie that the bird is great. Paul did a great job on the re-post.

[Earl Orf]

Thanks, Paul, for the repost. Also thanks to everyone else for the comments. When I first worked on this photo I thought the branch made a nice frame around the bird but I see what you mean about it detracting from the bird. Paul, did you use a Quick Mask to take out the branch?

Earl Orf
www.earlorfphotos.com (http://www.earlorfphotos.com)

[Paul Pagano]

Hi Earl....I just used a cloning brush to remove the part of the branch we didn't want and then a blending brush to blend in the cloned area with the rest of the background. I am still using Digital Image mostly and haven't graduated to PS yet, so I know little about masks (ssshhhh, don't tell anyone around here that! :) )....

[Earl Orf]

OK Paul, I won't tell.

Earl Orf
www.earlorfphotos.com (http://www.earlorfphotos.com)