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Joseph Przybyla
06-17-2016, 11:03 AM
I put out this perch in the backyard hoping to attract birds to photograph using the perch. No birds, but the dragonflies love it. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm (600mm FFE)
1/250 F/16 Matrix Metering 0 EV ISO 400 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC
Cropped for composition and presentation

Nancy Bell
06-17-2016, 11:44 AM
That bright red, almost glowing abdomen is quite eye-catching! I also like the fine venation details you captured in the wings. I would have preferred that the bkgd all be that lovely soft green without the horizontal gray strip running through the middle. A pathway in the yard? You have chosen a very interesting perch and apparently an attractive one to the dragonfly. May you also get that bird you want!

Joseph Przybyla
06-17-2016, 12:33 PM
Hi Nancy, thank you for viewing, commenting and suggesting improvements. The lighter colored area is a concrete cart path on the golf course in my backyard. I changed it to all light green, easy fix in Photoshop. Here is a repost.

Nancy Bell
06-17-2016, 12:48 PM
This is good! In the interest of education for forum users, could you briefly describe the process you used to remove the gray strip?

Joseph Przybyla
06-17-2016, 03:41 PM
Hi Nancy, here's what I did. I opened a copy of the image in Photoshop CC. I right clicked on the Quick Selection Tool, then selected the Magic Wand Tool. With the Magic Wand Tool I left clicked inside the grey area which put a selection around the grey on the left side of the perch and dragonfly. I selected the Paint Brush Tool with the opacity set at 20%, holding down the ALT key I selected the green color of the background. I painted inside the grey selected area blending until it looked right with the background. I did the same for the grey area to the right of the perch and dragonfly. There was still areas that needed to be smoothed and blended on the edges of the grey areas. Using the Quick Selection Tool I made a selection of the perch and dragonfly, then right clicking inside the selection I selected Select Inverse which protected the perch and dragonfly. With the Paint Brush Tool at 20%, with the previous green background color I smoothed out and blended until it looked right. Hoping this explains and helps, maybe there is an easier way.

John Robinson
06-18-2016, 05:07 AM
Well worked and described Joe. Like the shape of the perch which breaks the monotony of a single stem.
John

Joseph Przybyla
06-19-2016, 05:58 AM
Nancy and John, thank you for viewing and commenting. Very much appreciated...

Nancy Bell
06-21-2016, 03:25 PM
Thank you for that clear explanation of your technique!