Union meeting Maybe ?

[John Robinson]

Magpies
Much maligned bird I know but so entertaining at close quarters. Get two or three together an they talk to each other and make the wierdest of noises.
Poolside Hide They can also be very obliging once they have accepted the hide
Bit noisy especially in the blacks . Tried various things but made it worse ! As usual!!
D100 Sigma 100-300 mm.
Camera on low contrast.
500 iso f11 250 th sec
exposure comp down one stop.
Processed Paint shop pro7
Thank for comments on Raven
JohnR

[Richard Flack]

Hi John, I love capturing interactions between birds and this is cool one. I love the expression on their faces. Besides the blacks (which don't look too bad from where I am sitting), the background is not ideal (bit too busy for my liking but not much you can do about it). Some NR may however help here. Thanks for sharing!

[gail bisson]

Hi John,
I like the interaction but the processing has hurt the image.
Did you try DPP to lift the blacks and reduce the noise? In my limited use of DPP4, I feel that this situation is where DPP4 shines. It lifts the blacks beautifully and is excellent for noise.
Gail

[John Robinson]

Hi Gail
I don't use any PS stuff but tried several programs on the blacks and noise ,Shadows an highlights etc,etc.. It actually looked better with the blacks wth no detail- didn't show the noise up then. Pic more for interest than anything.
I had to keep the exposure down because of the whites - Magpies are a pain in that respect. I might have another go later but I think its wasted effort.
Thanks for looking

[Bill Dix]

Great interaction; glad you posted it. Good call on the aperture to get both birds in focus, even if it made the bg a little busy (but then, I know how you hate plain bg's). I can see how these would be tough birds to expose properly. You did a nice job of it. Bringing out more detail in the blacks would just bring out more noise. Aside from Gail's suggestion (I don't use DPP so can't comment), this might be a candidate for a dual RAW conversion, one for the whites and one for the blacks.

[John Robinson]

Thanks Bill. Yes- I don't shoot raw either. This one is nearly the original apart from cropping and although theres no detail in the blacks I think its better. In real life a magpies black is more like velvet so there isnt much to play with anyway.
Thanks
Cheers
John

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Such handsome birds. Nice interaction. Funny title. I almost always enjoy how you include the surroundings in your images.

Gail, I don't think DPP works for Nikon raw files. Were you suggesting using DPP on jpeg (assuming that works)?

[John Robinson]

Thanks Sidarth
What is DPP anyway ?
John

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Canon Digital Photo Professional - it's meant for processing canon raw files.

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice interaction and good to have both of the in focus, I agree the BG is bit busy here and a standard 3:2 would work better here IMO

and yes DPP is only for Canon shooters.

TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

John you have some great images but as you indicate the processing is inconsistent. I would seriously consider buying Lightroom or Photoshop Elements, neither are expensive and I think after a little practise (plenty of tutorials on the net) your images would improve dramatically.

[John Robinson]

Thanks all.
Johnathan .
I don't take my photography too seriosley to spend any more. Other more pressing needs at the moment. I'd probably have to upgrade my windows version too !
Most of the pp probs are with old images often off film. Most of my modern stuff I can sort out on or in the camera anyway. I do have several stand alone programmes Image guru, Bibble Pro etc etc. I,ll struggle on
Thanks
JohnR

[Binu John]

Excellent interaction shot! The aperture setting was perfect to have both the birds within the DOF. TFS

[John Robinson]

Thanks Binu- One of those rare occasions when I thought about the aperture before taking the shot !!!:bg3:











JohnR