Theme-Yellowlegs

[nickolas thurston]

Yellowlegs on a rainy day, shot on a 7d2 with a 500mm f4 (version 1) at 1/250 f4.5 iso 1000. Converted in adobe camera raw and then added nik detail extractor at 25%. I also clone out a Sanderling in the foreground using the content-aware fill.

[Arthur Morris]

Well done on all counts. No trace of the Sanderling. I bit more room behind would have been ideal. I do the same thing all the time :) Where was the image made?

Thanks a stack for your membership support.

with love, artie

[Isaac Grant]

Nice juvenile you have here. Pose is nice is well. I have to disagree with Artie on this one. There are obvious cloning marks and repeating patterns below the birds tail and head that need to be cleaned up. In addition whatever you used as a source was not in the same focus plane as where the bird is standing and it just looks off. I find you have far too much blank green space below the bird you are too tight above the bird. I would get rid of the dark line at the top of the frame. Head angle is nice but not ideal as it is not facing us at all and in my opinion is less engaging. I also find the whole shot a bit thin. Colors are not as deeply based as they should be. Bird looks too flat. To fix that I would at a minimum go into selective color and up the blacks in the neutrals and blacks a few. Could also use a curves adjustment. Also I think the head is not as sharp as the rest of the body. Was focus on the head? If not, f4.5 might have been too low to get the whole bird in focus.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Isaac, I was in too much of a hurry.

with love, a

[nickolas thurston]

Thanks for the feedback, I rushed this shot a little and did not move the focus point quickly enough. Any advice on how to fix the cloning? I am new to photoshop. could I add canvas to the top do you think that would help balance out the shot? Thanks once again you always have very honest feedback and I really appreciate that.

[nickolas thurston]

This was in Alameda, right next to Oakland, California. Thank you, Arthur for all the help you and everyone provide on this forum!

[Arthur Morris]

This was in Alameda, right next to Oakland, California. Thank you, Arthur for all the help you and everyone provide on this forum!

HI Nickolas, You are most welcome. A closer look reveals that you made something of a mess in front of the bird as well as behind :) Please use a large file service and send the RAW file to me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net if possible and if you would like.

In the meantime I would suggest that you get yourself a copy of my Digital Basics II by clicking here (http://birdsasart-shop.com/the-birds-as-art-current-workflow-e-guide-digital-basics-ii/). And then start studying :)

with love, artie

[Isaac Grant]

We are all here to learn and help. I now agree with Artie. Not trying to spend your money but purchasing one of his extremely helpful and informative guides is practically invaluable to a beginning photoshop user. You will get far more info in there than I could possibly answer here. In general I would advise doing these types of edits on a separate layer at a lower opacity so you can control the severity of the adjustment. Yes I would take canvas off of the bottom and add it to the top for sure. Best advice is to get his guide and study and practice away.

[Arthur Morris]

uThanks Isaac :) But not just for beginners :)

with love, artie

ps: anything around? I am heading up to Long Island as I type.

[Isaac Grant]

Ha!!! I spoke to soon. Of course not just for beginners.

Plenty of stuff around depending on what you want to shoot. Lots of waterfowl in. Have been a few lingering juvenile Hudsonian Godwit that I still haven't gotten the chance to go for. Call me.

[Arthur Morris]

Ha!!! I spoke to soon. Of course not just for beginners.

Plenty of stuff around depending on what you want to shoot. Lots of waterfowl in. Have been a few lingering juvenile Hudsonian Godwit that I still haven't gotten the chance to go for. Call me.

Great and will do. Where on the juvie HUGOs?

with love, artie

[Isaac Grant]

Heckscher State Park. Hanging out in a puddle on the grass.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Isaac. I will give you a call. And will ask around for additional details.

with love, artie

[nickolas thurston]

Hello Artie, I sent you the raw file and jpeg to you on google drive. feel free to use them however you'd like.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Nickolas,

I got the RAW file thanks. Getting rid of the Sanderlings was tough at best ... I used a series of flopped and warped Quick Masks and the the usual stuff. Add a bit of canvas above.

The AF point was on the front of the folded wing/shoulder. Raising the lens a bit would have put the AF point on the bird's eye. The RAW file was not very sharp on the face. IAC, let me know if you would like me to send the master file.

with love, artie

[Arthur Morris]

Looks as if I over-crunched it a bit with too much NIK :(

with love, artie