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Mike Milicia
03-08-2009, 08:25 PM
EOS-1D Mk III, 500mm f/4, 1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 400
Av mode, Evaluative Metering with -0.67 Compensation
Fill Flash at -2

About 95% of Full Frame
(Added a bit of canvas to top after rotating)

Photographed a couple weeks ago at a local pond.

Looking forward to your comments and critiques !
Axel Hildebrandt
03-08-2009, 08:36 PM
I like the raised crest, details and eye contact and would try to get more details in the blacks. If you have, I would add a bit more canvas on the left.
Randy Stout
03-08-2009, 08:51 PM
Mike:

I agree with Axel, and if you have anything left on the right, add that back in too!

I love these guys, they usually have a real attitude going on.

Randy
John Cooper
03-08-2009, 11:14 PM
Beautifully captured Mike and I love those complimentry tones in the water.
Composition though is just a tad tight for me.
Doug Brown
03-09-2009, 09:30 AM
That's one good-looking bird Mike! Great job with the exposure and sharpness. Love the low angle. I'd add a little canvas on the left and right both.
Arthur Morris
03-10-2009, 07:04 AM
As above. Sharpness is spectacular, esp. they eye. Did you do any Eye Doctor work?
Mike Milicia
03-10-2009, 09:25 AM
As above. Sharpness is spectacular, esp. they eye. Did you do any Eye Doctor work?
Yes, I almost always do targeted adjustments to the eye during postprocessing. Got the idea from some famous bird photographer. ;):)

I usually mask out the entire eye when doing the Levels adjustment for the rest of the image.
I then do a separate Levels adjustment for the eye which usually involves lightening it a bit.
In this case, I did two Levels adjustments for the eye, one for the iris to lighten it (Black = 10, White = 245, Midpoint = 1.10),
and one for the pupil to darken it (Black = 50, White = 255, Midpoint = 0.90).
To give some context, the Levels adjustment for the rest of the image in this case was Black=3, White=250, Midpoint=1.00.
I also cloned out the extra catchlight from the fill flash.
In some cases, I also do separate contrast adjustments (Curves) for the eye vs. the rest of the image.
Arthur Morris
03-10-2009, 09:30 AM
Thanks Mike. Your Eye Doctor workflow is more involved than mine! See my Morro Bay e-mail sent in a few.