Preening Shoveller

[Richard Kowalski]

Ok, and yet another Northern Shoveler from Sweetwater, Tucson, yesterday morning.

I know the head angle isn't just right, and I'm not happy about the multiple distorted eyes in the reflection. I'm thinking of cloning the "extra ones" out. The white on the rear side is also blown out.

Canon 20D, 1/250th, ISO 400, Av, 0 EV
Sigma 50 - 500, 500mm @ f/ 6.3

WB, cropped and rotated in ACR, slight sharpening of the eye in PS.

[Alfred Forns]

Richard the head angle is pretty close to exact The raised feathers look great I would use the patch tool and clone texture from the front side of the bird to the rear Very easy fix

As far as the extra eyes they can be cloned out It is an excellent image and like it very much !!!!

[Judd Patterson]

Richard, that is some nice looking water that really adds to your image. The head angle looks pretty good to me as well. Fixing the blown highlights with Alfred's method sounds good. Nice light to accentuate the green in the head feathers!

[Richard Kowalski]

Thanks Alfred, Judd.

I guess I need to study other images with correct HAs, continue to review the responses in the Head Angle thread and Artie's lessons on this in his books.

I really like the copper color of the water too. I was paying much more attention to the reflections yesterday.

[Nonda Surratt]

Great water and lovely shoveler!

The image seems just a bit soft to me? A bit more shutter speed maybe?

[Richard Kowalski]

I did no sharpening to the image other than the eye, so that may be the main reason. The lens was on my monopod, but 1/250th might be pushing that a little.