Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Olympus : E-M1X
Focal Length : 600.0mm
Focal length in 35 mm film : 1202.0mm
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
ISO: 5000
Exposure compensation : 0.0 EV
Shutter : 1/2500 sec
Aperture : F8


ACR/PSCC

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Jon ... the Whoopie gave you a nice wing spread . Comp looks good as does the overall tones ....
Here on my screen and for my taste the WB is a bit " off " and I would love to see a better separation of subject and the BG waters ... just my take .

I would try to get the subject lighter and the water darker .... your call .

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Overall it looks soft Jon???

[Steve Kaluski]

Jon, just took a stab based on the OP, processed on the laptop as I'm in that expensive 'County' as you say, so there is a bit of tolerance to the RP, but for me the head is soft.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Andreas, Steve, yes I agree, I should have done more to make the swan stand out more from the water. There were closer swans , quality would have been better and no crop required, trouble was the closer swans were not flapping about. Yes the head is not as sharp as it should have been.

[Dorian Anderson]

A nice dynamic pose, even if the bird was a bit for off (necessitating the heavy crop). Direct stare is nice, and I think Steve's execution of Andrea's suggestion ('lighter bird, darker water') really helps. Ths is where getting the lens right onto the water helps, but that's not always possible, especially if there's a drop from the bank to the water.

[Arthur Morris]

Yes, the best way to separate the bird from the background is to get down as close as (and if) possible. In the repost, it is clear that you made a real mess adding canvas to the top of the frame.

with love, artie