Theme: Winter Carolina Wren

[annmpacheco]

Taken last January when New England was socked with snow. My business took a big hit with many "snow day cancellations" and so I spent my time photographing winter birds. lemons to lemonade for me!

Canon 1DX, 500 mm
ISO 640
f 8.0 ss 1/500

[Glennie Passier]

I look at this image and say...(*#@t) I can only aspire to an image as good as this. Love the angel of the branch and the clarity of the little bird.

[keith mitchell]

Really nice pose on that snow covered branch, clarity and light is beautiful, excellent image.

Keith.

[Karl Egressy]

I don't know if you are comfortable with cloning out distracting branches and the like.
This is such a great image of this cutie that you might want to further improve it with a little cloning like this.

[gail bisson]

The first thing I thought when I opened this was how cute the bird is but the extra branch should go-so I am a fan of Karl's repost.
I really like the hints of white in the blue Bg.
Lovely head turn.It really feels like a lovely sunny winter afternoon after a storm.
IQ is much much better in this image then the first woodie image you posted. I think your PP is improving!
Gail

[Jonathan Ashton]

I try to leave well alone but I too saw the first image and thought great but that little twig is a distraction. Karl's mod jas taken the image up a notch for me. A super image lovely details and colours well done.

[annmpacheco]

Thanks everyone and Karl I really like the removal of that twig, I need to learn that as my PP is on the lean side.


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[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely little tail wager. I think Karl's edit takes this over the top, so much better without that twig. Thank you for sharing, Ann.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, the twig removal makes a good image great...if a setup this is the type of detail that can be taken care of before the shutter button is pressed. Super IQ with clear details. Cute typical wren pose. Excellent winter image!

[Grace Scalzo]

super cute image, much improved with the stick ejected. Love the perky bird and baby blue background.

[Arthur Morris]

I did not see Karl's repost but as it turned out I went a bit further. And sharpened the face a bit with a contrast mask Too cute. a

[annmpacheco]

Thanks Artie: cute got more cute, I like the detail[emoji4]


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[annmpacheco]

Artie can you say how you did that magic?


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[Bill Dix]

Terrific winter scene with great pose. I like both reposts. Our backyard wren wakes me up each morning with his loud song right outside my window. Cute but annoying little guys.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie: cute got more cute, I like the detail[emoji4]


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Certainly. I am glad that you asked :) I used my Divide and Conquer techniques: Clone Stamp to break things up into manageable segments and then the Patch Tool to make them disappear. Then Protect and Defend cloning on layer. A series of small Quick Masks each transformed and warped and then refined with a Regular Layer Mask. Plus regular Patch Tool work in spots. The face was selected with the Quick Selection Tool and put on a layer. I applied a Contrast Mask: Unsharp Mask at 15/65/0 and then pulled up the Curve to lighten it. Total time: 7 minutes. But it was such a cute shot that I could not resist. Not that I eliminated a few other niggling distractions :)

a

Digital Basics

Everything that I did to optimize this image plus tons more is covered in detail in my Digital Basics File–written in my easy-to-follow, easy-to-understand style. The Digital Basics File (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252) is an instructional PDF that is sent via e-mail. It includes my complete digital workflow, dozens of great Photoshop tips, details on using all of my image clean-up tools, the use of Contrast Masks, several different ways of expanding and filling in canvas, all of my time-saving Keyboard Shortcuts, Quick Masking, Layer Masking, and NIK Color Efex Pro basics, Contrast Masks, Digital Eye Doctor techniques, using Gaussian Blurs, Dodge and Burn, a variety of ways to make selections, how to create time-saving actions, the Surface Blur settings that I use to smooth background noise, and tons more.

APTATS I & II

Learn the details of advanced Quick Masking techniques in APTATS I (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=54). Learn Advanced Layer Masking Techniques in APTATS II (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=54). Mention this blog post and apply a $5 discount to either with phone orders only. Buy both APTATS I and APTATS II and we will be glad to apply at $15 discount with phone orders. Please call Jim or Jennifer weekdays at 863-221-2372 to take advantage of this special offer. You can find the same deal in the BAA Online Store here (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=380).

[annmpacheco]

Thank you Artie, time for me to "brush up" on my copy of your Digital Basics, and consider my need for APTATS I & II. Always a student, so much to learn...


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[John Hackney]

Great little wren shot. The twig removal put it over the top for me.

[D. Robert Franz]

Love the puffed up little wren here.. Reposts are good!