King of the Hill v2

[Brian Sump]

186566

So the first one I posted was not warmly received. I found this one in the series of the Egrets closer to the point of conflict.

Also corrected several things based on previous comments. I know the concrete rocks are still not desirable but hoping this one turned out better.

D850
Sigma 500mm
HH
ISO 1800
1/2500
f4

C1P - reduced blue tonal correction, reduced contrast, shadows and highlights, sharpened and mild noise reduction
PS - Used multiply mask to bring out details in whites, raised mids and reduced highs a little more (lum masks), cleaned up bkg, cropped for aesthetics. Re-sharpened for output

[David Roach]

Totally works for me. Love both poses, the BG, the perfect EXP and details. TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Sharpness and processing spot-on. Love the action. Love the BKGR upper right. The BKGR lower-left? Not so much. But all in all a quite excellent image.

with love, a

[gail bisson]

This is much much better. The birds are closer together so it helps create a much stronger image.
Whites look great, action good and both birds are sharp.
Because the eye can go immediately to the 2 egrets the BG becomes less of an issue.
So nice to see you learning quickly and listening to all the good critiques you have received!
Well done!

[kevin Hice]

Great action shot Brian. I agree the rocks are less of a focal point in this image which makes it much stronger. Love the whites as near perfection. I may have been at this location is it on the Platte? TFS

[Brian Sump]

Much appreciated all. Glad this one worked out!

Kevin, this one is at a small pond in Broomfield CO. There are probably quite a few settings like this on the Platte though.

[Ian McLachlan]

I think it is excellent and don't mind the rocks with the exception of maybe the squarish one which you could fix up ot not as you wish. Really like the dual action. and sharpness where it counts. Nice BG too

[William Dickson]

This is looking real good....Nice whites, flight poses and detail on the birds. I am seeing posterisation on the greens especially on the top RHS. I get bothered with this too, especially greens.

Will

[Brian Sump]

This is looking real good....Nice whites, flight poses and detail on the birds. I am seeing posterisation on the greens especially on the top RHS. I get bothered with this too, especially greens.

Will

Great catch Will!

I wonder if a smoothing or clone brush will take that out...

[William Dickson]

I really don't know what's best Brian....I have discovered that the more you crop, the posterisation is more evident, especially on green BG's. Also, using NR software to remove it, actually makes it worse. So, for me, if I see any posterisation on the file, I don't apply any NR. If there is only a small amount, I'm sure cloning it out would be the way to go. I am using a 5K iMac and see it quite a bit, but other good monitors don't seem to 'show' it.

Will

[John Mack]

Still love the hair do on this one. Nice the birds are closer together than the last one.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Brian you're learning fast the images are getting better and better! Well done.