Mean eyed Grackle

[Warren Spreng]

I don't think he liked me approaching while he was catching this morsel! I was down in North Fort Myers this weekend and had a blast every morning just going out to see what I might catch in my lens. Actually ended up with two lifers, a Loggerhead Shrike and a Swallow Tailed Kite. I got a shot of the Shrike, but the Kite was soaring and I didn't have my camera at the time.

For this shot the Grackle was at the edge of one of the ponds foraging and I was able to sneak up on him just as he caught this. He saw me and made a quick get-a-way but I was able to catch him with the goods! Canon T3i, Tamron 150 - 600, 600mm 1/1000, f/6.3, ISO800 handheld. Very little done, cropped a little on the right and tweaked the shadows a little bit, very minor sharpening and I enhanced the eye catch just a bit.

150601

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! I like the anchor provided by the ground in the lower right. Tonalities are very well-handled, excellent sharpness and detail, lovely iridescence on the feathers and, indeed, a great look. Well done!

I think a bit off the top (about halfway down to the body) would simplify the background and emphasize the look a bit more.

[Warren Spreng]

Very nice! I like the anchor provided by the ground in the lower right. Tonalities are very well-handled, excellent sharpness and detail, lovely iridescence on the feathers and, indeed, a great look. Well done!

I think a bit off the top (about halfway down to the body) would simplify the background and emphasize the look a bit more.

Thanks Diane! How does this look?

150606

I have one of a Loggerhead Shrike that was in a very "branchy" tree that I'll post later after I have worked on it. I'll love to get some input on how to work that one. I can clone fairly well but this one needs a real pro I think to give it a clean look!

[Sandy Witvoet]

Beautiful iridescence and wonderful capture, Warren! Well done!

[Warren Spreng]

Beautiful iridescence and wonderful capture, Warren! Well done!

Thanks Sandy!

[Diane Miller]

For my taste the second is better -- but what do you think? This is all subjective.

[Warren Spreng]

For my taste the second is better -- but what do you think? This is all subjective.

I like both but I see the difference in the 2nd version that the focus is much more on the Grackle. Just like AP you can play with an image a dozen ways and in the end you just have to choose which one appeals to you! Thanks again for your input!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

I like the second crop. The colours you have gotten on the bird are amazing. I wonder if the grass is really this green?

[Warren Spreng]

I like the second crop. The colours you have gotten on the bird are amazing. I wonder if the grass is really this green?

Thanks Jackie! I looked back at the raw in LR and I moved saturation up to +10 in PS CC as well as the exposure so a little enhancement on the color but pretty minor so it's pretty close to what the color of the grass was. Here is a jpg of the raw file right out of the camera without any adjustments. The more I image these birds the more I am amazed at the colors they display. Someone told me there really is no color, it is the way their feathers refract the light.

150761

[Diane Miller]

A good starting file. I think the color on many dark feathers is from iridescence.

Instead of going for Saturation, I'd try Vibrance. It will bring up the less saturated colors more than the more saturated ones. It's pretty amazing. The colors are also strongly affected by the choice of the Profile in the Camera Calibration section. The default Adobe Standard isn't always the best. If it causes some colors to be over-saturated, then reducing the saturation isn't always the best result. I'd rather choose a profile that gives more subdued results and then increase values (for color or contrast) rather than decrease them.

Or an easy thing here is just to decrease yellows a little in the HSL section. Of course, how bright the grass is is just a choice, so I'm just talking about general possibilities.

[Warren Spreng]

A good starting file. I think the color on many dark feathers is from iridescence.

Instead of going for Saturation, I'd try Vibrance. It will bring up the less saturated colors more than the more saturated ones. It's pretty amazing. The colors are also strongly affected by the choice of the Profile in the Camera Calibration section. The default Adobe Standard isn't always the best. If it causes some colors to be over-saturated, then reducing the saturation isn't always the best result. I'd rather choose a profile that gives more subdued results and then increase values (for color or contrast) rather than decrease them.

Or an easy thing here is just to decrease yellows a little in the HSL section. Of course, how bright the grass is is just a choice, so I'm just talking about general possibilities.

Thanks Diane, I'll have to check out the Camera Calibration, not sure what it is on actually. I'll keep the Vibrance/Saturation adjustment in mind!