Plover

[wendell westfall]

D70s 70-200VR+2X@400 1/1000 f/5.6 ISO800 +1/3EV Hand-held

I don't often see this bird, a semi-palmated plover, in places I go to photograph, so I was pleased to capture a few images of it on this rather dark "June-gloom" morning here in Sothern California. Presented with about a 50% crop, some adjustments and NR and sharpening.

Wendell

[denise ippolito]

Wendell, I think you did very well here considering the "June-gloom". I like the composition but the OOF area on the bottom right is a bit distracting since it's only a spot I think you could easily clone it-but that would be up to you. Did you see Art Morris' post in the Educational forum? -I think he posted it yesterday, it explains how to add a natural catchlight and I think your image could use one. Here's the link incase you would like to add one
http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=39426

[wendell westfall]

Thanks, Denise, for your quick critique. I will definitely clone the lower right corner. And now, having read Art Morris' post, will explore adding a catchlight.

[denise ippolito]

Wendell, No problem-I really liked his method of adding a catchlight and thought it would be helpful.

[Harold Davis]

i agree with denise about the blurry area and if you are up to it i would catch the dark area at the tip of the tail. i like the idea of a catchlight, but would trade it in for a little light eye area. some flash fill would have been the trick here.

nice job in the gloom!! if you are getting stuff like this in the "gloom", i'd hate to see what you come up with next!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Wendell

The biggest help here would be going to ground level Takes care of the bg/fg !!!!

As presented would lighten the bird a bit The face area looks darker than the rest. Also the orange rock in the bg right sort of catches attention. Did get a great head angle and pose !!! Love those little guys !!!

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Wendell,
I like the composition and capture...yes, a lower angle would make this a very strong composition...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[David Thomasson]

Nice one, Wendell. I'm seeing a bit of a cyan cast (I see casts in my sleep :cool:). When I got to adjusting that, I began to think a darker ground would set off the bird's white better. Once I did that, I began to think a faded background might set off the dark plumage nicely. One thing just seems to lead to another. The catchlight was an afterthought. Simplest way to make those is with a little white brush on a blank layer.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9929/plover.jpg

[denise ippolito]

David, Really nice repost!!

[David Thomasson]

David, Really nice repost!!

Thanks, Denise!

[wendell westfall]

David, you have a magic touch . . . makes my plover look mighty good . . .

[wendell westfall]

David, I went to your site and took a look at your "correct color cast" example . . . I'd like to know what corrective steps you took to brighten up the house that way? Or is that a professional secret?

Wendell

[David Thomasson]

David, I went to your site and took a look at your "correct color cast" example . . . I'd like to know what corrective steps you took to brighten up the house that way? Or is that a professional secret?

Hi Wendell: No, I don't have any trade secrets. I don't recall exactly what I did first time around with that picture, so I did it again. My steps this time (I'm constantly changing how I do things):


Original image
Levels adjustment layer to set white point and black point.
Blank layer in soft light mode; applied dark blue-to-transparent gradient on the sky to darken it. (You can use the "blend if" sliders in the layers styles dialog box to keep that from affecting the clouds and darker trees.)
Shadows/highlights filter to open shadow details, and a selective color adjustment layer to brighten the greens.



http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/9056/housecolor2.jpg

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/2020/housecolor.gif (Color didn't hold up well, because I started with the downsized image.)

[wendell westfall]

Thanks, David! I'll get to work on those steps. I've never been able to brighten-up my hazy images to my satisfaction. This will help, I'm sure . . .

[Lance Peters]

sometime you just have to get down and dirty - it will make ALL the difference - I try and shoot as low as possible as often as possible - really does transform your images - yeh you get dirty and the wife might growl :) but its all fun :)