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View Full Version : Mixed Gull flock, Fire Island National Seashore



Mark Apgar
01-16-2008, 11:11 PM
Canon 10D
75-300mm EF at 125mm
1/100 sec. f/22
Cropped to panoramic, bumped saturation up quite a bit and removed a single overlapped bird.

Dean Ingwersen
01-16-2008, 11:38 PM
Hi Mark,

Really like the idea, and think you've captured it pretty well. However it looks a bit flat on my screen...did you adjust levels and curves? If not I reckon tweaking them might make you image snap a little more. Or it could be your small file size - could that have compressed quality a bit?

Robert Amoruso
01-17-2008, 09:15 AM
Mark,

I like the feel and composition. Dean was correct that a levels and curves adjustment is needed to expand the tonal range (levels) and adjust the contrast (curves).

In the composition, you have the breaking wave starting on the right and diagonally progressing to the left where it slowly dissipates. This leads the viewers eye into the image but does not allow it to wander off. Very nice work. You are welcome to re-post a corrected image for us to enjoy. Thanks.

Mark Apgar
01-17-2008, 02:27 PM
Thanks very much for the feedback - I truly appreciate it. I tried what you both suggested, did a levels and curves adjustment. In the histogram, there was nothing in the first box and I had pixels pegged on the right in the last box.

With the above adjustments, I am thinking that it is perhaps too saturated? I guess it depends on the mood I'm trying to set.

Here is the adjusted image:

Dean Ingwersen
01-17-2008, 10:44 PM
Hi Mark,

Wow, that looks great. I see what you're saying about it being oversaturated...it is perhaps a little to my eye. But I think it does depend on what sort of mood you're trying to portray. I actually like it as is the more I look at it. Good work.

Cheers, Dean

David Kennedy
01-18-2008, 02:05 PM
Mark,
I would definitely recommend going back to the point before the saturation was introduced before working on the curves. I think that the curves adjustment you present, while the "correct" way to do it, exposes an excessive amount of added saturation. Chances are, with the curves adjustment earlier in the work flow of this image, you'll discover you don't even need to add saturation. If you do, I would suggest playing with Selective Color first. This is my personal bias: I used to play with saturation a lot, and now I'm in a "Selective Color" phase instead!

Robert Amoruso
01-18-2008, 02:17 PM
Agree with David. I use Selective Color a lot more now.