Peregrine Falcon

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Hello again... Too busy at work and at home with the kids, and don't get to shoot as often as I would really like. Finally decided to join as a Member and maybe that would force me to shoot more, hoping to learn from all you masters around here...

Anyway, this is a frame from this past weekend. Would appreciate any C&C... Thx...

Nikon D4, 600mm f/4G, f/5.6, 1/3200 sec, ISO 1600

169940

[Daniel Cadieux]

Neat calling in flight pose. Good details. The comp would be improved by having the subject further back in the frame, and I do feel the image is a bit too blue - adding a touch of reds to the overall colour balance may do the trick.

[Arthur Morris]

Ditto Dan on moving the bird back in the frame. Easy to do. Let me know if you need some help there. I love the open bill and the dorsal view. The whole thing could go a bit darker; see Glen's Peregrine just above this one. Big time thanks for your membership support. Now get out there and make some images :) with love, artie

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Thank you Artie and Daniel for your feedback... Here is my second attempt in processing, taking your feedback into account. Is this any better?

169947

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Kambiz, The tonality is better but only by 1000%. I love it as is but would still love to see it with a bit of a looser crop and more room in front (as a true 3X2). with love, artie

[Daniel Cadieux]

As Artie mentions, this is tons better, and I also agree with even more room in front of the falcon.

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Thanks again for your comments... In regards to more room in front, my second picture was just a different crop. I did not have any more room left in the original frame. So to further extend it, I would just have to do it in Photoshop. Not a big deal, but I just didn't get to do it last night.

[arash_hazeghi]

the original was soft (too much NR) bit the repost is too noisy. do you have the RAW?

love the topside view and the colors and the open beak, well done Kambiz

[Glenn Conlan]

Welcome Kambiz, glad to see you have my old lens out in the field. Great suggestion from Daniel really helped the shot. Get Arash the Raw he is a master processor

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Thanks a lot Arash... Some of the noise may also be due to amplification due to the crop. This is only about 25% crop of the original frame. And yes, I do have the RAW. How best can I send it to you? Google Drive? Thx!

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Yes, Thank you Glenn... I have seen many of Arash's pictures and I know he is absolutely a master indeed... I would love to see what he can achieve with my crappy RAW file in this case :)

And in regards to your lens, yes, very much enjoying it. Thx! I have been planning to focus tune it with my D4 using my FoCal Pro software but, believe it or not, still haven't had a chance. And man, I so wish for that new 600mm. Now that I have been using 600 f/4G for some time, I believe that 1.25Kg difference in weight could make a huge difference in handling!

[arash_hazeghi]

Kambiz, you can use dropbox to share your RAW files

best

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Kambiz, you can use dropbox to share your RAW files

best

Sure, will do that later tonight when I am back home... Thanks...

[arash_hazeghi]

I processed Kambiz's RAW file with PS and Neat Image, the issue with this image is that the falcon was way off the center and as a result focus was soft. you need to keep the bird centered in the frame. Nevertheless I was able to get much better results than either of the posted images. you could bump up the contrast a bit too...

169992

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Thank you so much Arash. Excellent, and obviously further testament to your processing skills. Really appreciate your time on this.

In regards to NR, is Neat Image really much better than, say, NIK Dfine that I mostly use?

Thanks again...

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

Oh, and in regards to keeping the bird in the center of the frame, I understand but as you know, it is not so easy with these Peregrine in flight...

[Arthur Morris]

I processed Kambiz's RAW file with PS and Neat Image, the issue with this image is that the falcon was way off the center and as a result focus was soft. you need to keep the bird centered in the frame. Nevertheless I was able to get much better results than either of the posted images. you could bump up the contrast a bit too...

169992

Killer job Arash. Much more natural looking and sharper as well. with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

Oh, and in regards to keeping the bird in the center of the frame, I understand but as you know, it is not so easy with these Peregrine in flight...

Hey Kambiz, I am in the same boat even with slow flying birds :(

with love, artie

[arash_hazeghi]

Thank you so much Arash. Excellent, and obviously further testament to your processing skills. Really appreciate your time on this.

In regards to NR, is Neat Image really much better than, say, NIK Dfine that I mostly use?

Thanks again...

NIK define is not suitable for NR, it doesn't have the necessary controls. NIK was purchased by google and they pulled the plug on it recently.


Neat Image is the only NR software I use and recommend.

[Kambiz Shoarinejad]

NIK define is not suitable for NR, it doesn't have the necessary controls. NIK was purchased by google and they pulled the plug on it recently.


Neat Image is the only NR software I use and recommend.

Thanks Arash... Will try Neat Image.

Google had already stopped updating NIK plugins for a long time. The recent announcement was just making it official, which is sad because NIK collection was one of the better set of plugins out there, IMHO.

[arash_hazeghi]

Oh, and in regards to keeping the bird in the center of the frame, I understand but as you know, it is not so easy with these Peregrine in flight...

yes I know, if it were easy everyone would be doing it :)

[Arthur Morris]

[QUOTE=Kambiz Shoarinejad;1159075]Thanks Arash... Will try Neat Image./QUOTE]


Kambiz, There is some interesting info on NeatImage and the Professional Post Processing Guide here (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2017/07/01/shrimp-feeding-spree-and-noise-reduction-related-questions/).

With love, artie