Tri-Colored Heron

[Mohammed Ahmed]

Created this image in December 2007 @ Ding Darling NWR - Sanibel Florida
Technicals:
Canon EOS 40D; EF400mm f/2.8L IS USM +2.0x
ISO200; RAW; Flash Off; WB Auto; Manual Focus
1/250Sec.; F5.6; Evaluative metering; -1/3EC;


I have cropped about a fifth from top. Other than that a little bit of adjustment in sharpness, contrast & brightness. Please let me know if the mangroves are a distracting in this, the way it has been framed and what your likes and dislikes are. I am very new to Photoshop and have not determined or defined my workflow pattern. Are there any books/tutorials that any of you would recommend to help me do this? For example: Do you use USM prior to resizing or after? When do you do dodge/burn? Are there any fractal routines or plug-ins that can be used when upsizing the image let's say to 16"x24" size etc. Thanks in advance.

[Paul Davey]

Hi Mohammed. I don't think the mangroves are distracting. It shows the bird in its habitat, which is a plus. I am very new to PhotoShop as well and am only just starting up in the more advanced digital workflow processes. I don't have any recommendations for a book. For your photograph, I don't like the position of the birds head. Would be much better if tilted on an angle towards the photographer/viewer. Remember, it makes all the difference getting the highlight in the eyes.

Paul

[Tony Whitehead]

Hi Mohammed, Arthur Morris' Digital Basics File is an excellent primer for digital workflow - great value for money. Latest update has just been released. Sharpening generally should be your last step in image preparation and depends on final output.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Mohammed -
the problem with the mangroves was created with how you composed the photo. If you'd move more to the right, this would have extended the mangroves across the frame - but if you'd moved to the left , it would have opended up more space around the heron's legs (my personal preference). agree with comment on a better head angle.

as for books : Ellen Anon has an excellent book Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photography ($24 at Amazon) that covers a lot of the questions you're asking. At Birds for Art -there are also several excellent resource materials ( the CD book, Digital Workflow Primer, and RObert O'Toole workshops). You'll probably find these a lot more useful than buying a general book on CS3 . Living in SW FLorida - you should also beable to find some workshops to help

Good luck and keep the photos coming

[Philippe Collard]

Hello Mohammed,

What I feel is the most disturbing in this image is that I do not see the feet of the bird completely, but besides that the leaves in the foreground are fine. They add some depth to the picture.

If you want some digital basics (pun intented) I second Tony's advice to get Arthur Morris' tutorial. When you are done with it you can also look at Robert O'Toole's APTATS - all is in acronyms these days, this one is for "Advanced Photoshop Techniques and Tips Simplified" I think! But anyways the technique he demonstrates in this tutorial are amazingly simple and lead to very good results in little time.

For upsizing I understand you mean for printing up to 16x24? As far as I am concerned I use Qimage, you should give it a try.

Best,

Philippe.

[Mohammed Ahmed]

Thank you all for your honest C&C and helping me with digital darkroon processing. I will be using your suggestions to define my workflow.

Regards,

Mohammed Ahmed