Loon and chick

[annmpacheco]

First time to photograph a loon and also from a canoe. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Canon 1D-X
700mm
iso 1000
f 5.6
ss 1/2000

[arash_hazeghi]

love the low angle and the interaction between mom and chick! you nailed it. I think the IQ is still work in progress. do you have the raw file?

[annmpacheco]

love the low angle and the interaction between mom and chick! you nailed it. I think the IQ is still work in progress. do you have the raw file?
yes, heres the link:https://www.dropbox.com/s/a0x4b9us4w7tazp/_PDX2396.CR2?dl=0 thanks, wish the chick was more sharp but its a ?50% crop... hows the exposure?

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Ann,

I looked at the RAW file, here are a few issues for you to consider

A) in the field, the loons were too far and small in the frame. They are barely 20% of the frame, so you cannot expect to get much fine detail when the bird is so small. Do you have a 2X Extender III? If not buy one today. If you had used a 2X the bird would have been 2X bigger in the frame and thus show much more fine details

B) It seems you were applying too much noise reduction to the bird, in DPP you had NR set to 4 which isn't needed for 1DX at ISO 1000. In fact the bird doesn't need any NR since the bird is well exposed in the camera (great job nailing it!). After converting the RAW into 16Bit TIFF and sending it to PS, I selected the bird and the chick putting them on a separate layer. Then I applied some NR to the BG only. After re-sizing I used smart sharpen as I described earlier. Note that the chick was very slightly soft because of limited DOF. therefore I applied another round of sharpening on the chick to equalize sharpness between it and the mom. You can see that the resulting details readily look better.

C) It appears to me that your computer doesn't have a color profile set correctly or your screen has not been calibrated. Your post in pane 1 appears to have a red cast compared to what the RAW looks like in DPP. Make sure your screen is calibrated properly, your color profiles are set and that you convert to sRGB and embed color profile in PS when saving for web

hope this helps

158730

[keith mitchell]

Anette looks like you are getting some sound help and advice from Arash,what I really like is the interaction between the chick and it's mother and the lovely colours of the BG and water all at a great angle.


Keith.

[Glennie Passier]

Ann, I really like this, and Arash has made for some very interesting reading for me. It is truly amazing how many of the BPNers are photographing from water craft...and at such low angles. AND getting terrific images. I shoot from a kayak and have never, ever nailed one. So great work!

[Karl Egressy]

Wonderful image despite the flaws Arash mentioned. I wish I had it in my file.
The rework by Arash looks better.
Take his advices, Ann.

[Randy Stout]

Ann:

I am a bit partial to loons, so always enjoy seeing them posted. Excellent tech. comments from Arash.
The interaction here is nice. Depth of field is always an issue with shooting more than one loon at a time. Many times it simply isn't possible to get enough DOF when shooting pairs or groups.
You do have some flexibility in reducing your shutter speed to allow a smaller f/stop to increase DOF, and certainly with that body can push up the ISO as well.

I often shoot in the 1/320s range for floating loons. Not all are sharp of course, but it often works. I do have support however for the camera, and am using a jon boat, which is more stable than a canoe. I might try a base setting of 1/500 to 1/1000s if you get another chance and see how that works You don't need 1/2000s very often, mainly for flying loons, which gets to be a real challenge shooting from a canoe.

AS your focal length increases, you will find it increasingly difficult to keep the birds framed and your rig steady unless you incorporate some form of support.

Look forward to more.

Cheers

Randy

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Ann, I love your shot and what Arash has done with it. The water color is just fantastic and sets a great mood. I would consider a very marginal CW rotation, the water seems a little lower on the left than the right to me.
TFS-Ross

[Bill Dix]

What a sweet shot! Congratulations on your first loon, and first canoe shot. The interaction is wonderful, background beautiful, exposure great giving a nice sheen on the head; and Arash's intervention makes the IQ look very nice to my eye, given a 50% crop. Some great advice. Although they are occurring naturally, I'd remove one of the two catchlights - personal preference.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Ann,

I looked at the RAW file, here are a few issues for you to consider

A) in the field, the loons were too far and small in the frame. They are barely 20% of the frame, so you cannot expect to get much fine detail when the bird is so small. Do you have a 2X Extender III? If not buy one today. If you had used a 2X the bird would have been 2X bigger in the frame and thus show much more fine details

B) It seems you were applying too much noise reduction to the bird, in DPP you had NR set to 4 which isn't needed for 1DX at ISO 1000. In fact the bird doesn't need any NR since the bird is well exposed in the camera (great job nailing it!). After converting the RAW into 16Bit TIFF and sending it to PS, I selected the bird and the chick putting them on a separate layer. Then I applied some NR to the BG only. After re-sizing I used smart sharpen as I described earlier. Note that the chick was very slightly soft because of limited DOF. therefore I applied another round of sharpening on the chick to equalize sharpness between it and the mom. You can see that the resulting details readily look better.

C) It appears to me that your computer doesn't have a color profile set correctly or your screen has not been calibrated. Your post in pane 1 appears to have a red cast compared to what the RAW looks like in DPP. Make sure your screen is calibrated properly, your color profiles are set and that you convert to sRGB and embed color profile in PS when saving for web

hope this helps

158730
Arash, Thank you again for such valuable information, critique, and your time. I have been applying too much NR in DPP but now know to follow your guidelines and if needed apply NR in PS. I am also getting a better sense of the order of things and that too makes a world of difference. Funny you nudged me in the direction of the 2X bc only yesterday I had ordered one and this evening it is already here ready for me to use. A calibrated screen is something i have yet done but will also look into how to correctly set thing properly.
I am really loving the upgrade version of my image thanks to your skill and humbly I say to myself, "wow" along with the drive to be a better photographer...
Ann

[annmpacheco]

Ann:

I am a bit partial to loons, so always enjoy seeing them posted. Excellent tech. comments from Arash.
The interaction here is nice. Depth of field is always an issue with shooting more than one loon at a time. Many times it simply isn't possible to get enough DOF when shooting pairs or groups.
You do have some flexibility in reducing your shutter speed to allow a smaller f/stop to increase DOF, and certainly with that body can push up the ISO as well.

I often shoot in the 1/320s range for floating loons. Not all are sharp of course, but it often works. I do have support however for the camera, and am using a jon boat, which is more stable than a canoe. I might try a base setting of 1/500 to 1/1000s if you get another chance and see how that works You don't need 1/2000s very often, mainly for flying loons, which gets to be a real challenge shooting from a canoe.

AS your focal length increases, you will find it increasingly difficult to keep the birds framed and your rig steady unless you incorporate some form of support.

Look forward to more.

Cheers

Randy
Thank you Randy, i will keep in mind your suggestions next June when I get another chance. I agree i would have had more flexibility without the 1/2000 and had not changed the setting after a flight shot... Ive always admired your loon images, they're the best. There is something so very special about sitting in the belly of the canoe and sharing the same pov as the loons.

[Jim Crosswell]

Your repost looks much better Ann. I like the interaction, water color and composition.

[Randy Stout]

Ann:

Just to expand on Bill's comment a bit about the double catchlights. Even though this is absolutely normal, getting a second catchlight reflecting off the water, it can make the eye seem less sharp than it really is, and sometimes even sharpening can't improve the perceived sharpness. Therefore, I will remove a second catchlight if it is too distracting.

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

Arash, Thank you again for such valuable information, critique, and your time. I have been applying too much NR in DPP but now know to follow your guidelines and if needed apply NR in PS. I am also getting a better sense of the order of things and that too makes a world of difference. Funny you nudged me in the direction of the 2X bc only yesterday I had ordered one and this evening it is already here ready for me to use. A calibrated screen is something i have yet done but will also look into how to correctly set thing properly.
I am really loving the upgrade version of my image thanks to your skill and humbly I say to myself, "wow" along with the drive to be a better photographer...
Ann

checkout this article on my blog about color calibration/WB

http://arihazeghiphotography.com/blog/color-correction-for-avian-photography/