Relieving Muddy Frustration

[Arthur Morris]

Early on at Bosque large groups of geese were spending the afternoons in the southwest corner or the main impoundment near the Paybooth. On a day when they seemed paricularly placid I got down in the really soft mud to create some eye-level images. My sneakers and even my underwear wound up wet and muddy.... The additional problem was that the birds were tightly packed together. When these two swam a bit away from the masses, I found that I could not fit them both into a single frame. After carefully checking the bubble level in the camera's hot shoe I made a few images of the front bird and a few images of the back bird and later stitched them together in Photoshop.

Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/200 sec. at f/10.

All comments welcomce; don't be shy.

[thomasryan]

Now that's an intelligent solution and the pp image is just wonderful! Thanks for sharing this...tom

[Steve Maxson]

The stitching technique is very well done - seamless. The light is wonderful and the poses, composition, and background are outstanding. I am seeing what I assume are some jpeg artifacts around the edges of the birds - most noticeable around the heads and necks.

[Dean Ingwersen]

Really clever use of PP Artie (again!), and the exp, sharpness and comp are fantastic again. I'm also noticing the jpeg artefacts around the birds heads.

[Arthur Morris]

While I often admit to not having a critical eye for detail Steve and Dean's comments leave me mystified. I blew the image way up and see no evidence of any artifacting around either bird's head or neck. Am I missing something? (The image here was created from the JPEG not from the optimmized TIFF.)

ps: Are you referring to the dark line around the head?

[Juan Aragonés]

Artie I do see the jpeg artifacts in the original post but not in the crop at 100%. I think that they are due to the upload/posting (or whatever you call it :p) process.
I like to use this method a lot but it is not always possible to use it with birds and sometimes I also use it to increase the DOF in an image (you can see an example with two grass snakes in http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25014)
BTW, I like the low angle, BG and eye contact in this image ;)

[Arthur Morris]

Artie I do see the jpeg artifacts in the original post but not in the crop at 100%. I think that they are due to the upload/posting (or whatever you call it :p) process.
I like to use this method a lot but it is not always possible to use it with birds and sometimes I also use it to increase the DOF in an image (you can see an example with two grass snakes in http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25014)
BTW, I like the low angle, BG and eye contact in this image ;)

That is beyond strange. IAC, I do not see them anywhere :) :) :)

If anyone can shed some light on this, please let us know. Thanks!

[Arthur Morris]

Well, it appears that it is the uploading process that is causing the artifacts. I saved the image from BPN, opened it in Photoshop, and clearly saw the artifacting (that I could not see while viewing the original post.) Here it is cropped.

ps: Good to know that it was not me. Also not sure if this has only recently become a problem or has always existed to some degree or in some form...

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light, angle and mood, the BG adds to it. Interesting thread regarding artifacts and processing.

Does it need a tad CW rotation?

[Stu Bowie]

You have certainly exposed the whites very well here Artie, and an excellent low angle of capture. Thanks for sharing your stitching process with us, and well done.

[Dean Ingwersen]

Thanks for clarifying that for us Artie.

[Arthur Morris]

Does it need a tad CW rotation?

Hi Axel, I remember leveling this with the Ruler tool along the waterline of the front bird but I could have been off by a teench.

[Charles Glatzer]

Hello Artie,

Try this plug in and you will never use the save for web or jpeg option in CS again. I have been using it for years now...and it blows all others away!!!!

http://www.boxtopsoft.com/projpeg.html

Warmest Regards and Happy Holidays,

Chas

[Arthur Morris]

Hello Artie, Try this plug in and you will never use the save for web or jpeg option in CS again. I have been using it for years now...and it blows all others away!!!! http://www.boxtopsoft.com/projpeg.html Warmest Regards and Happy Holidays, Chas

Thanks for the tip. I am not sure, however, if it will solve my problem. When I create a JPEG with my action it looks fine on my laptop even when blown up. (See example above). In this case, the artifacts were present only after the image was uploaded.

Or are you saying that the recommended plug-in would prevent artifacts with the uploaded images.

Thanks bud.

ps: Are you a NANPA member?

[Charles Glatzer]

Artie,

I never had the artifact problem using the plug -in, but I think the uploading process is in fact altering the image somehow.

Yes, I am a NANPA member. Why?

Chas

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Chas. I agree on the uploading. I saw that you were doing two programs for a NANPA Road Show; they have had at least a few in FLA. I am sort of mystified that I have never been asked to do the same. Did you approach them or visa versa?

[Charles Glatzer]

They approached me through recommendations. Approved by committee. They wanted me to do more, but I will see how it goes this year. FYI- I have 7 images in the Showcase, including 1 in top ten. They told me it is the record. First comp I entered in 10 years.

Congrats on your awards this year, and the new Fire in the Mist image ROCKS!!

Best,

Chas

[Arthur Morris]

Congrats on the 7 Showcase images. I forgot to enter this year. And thanks for the info.