I'm Saved - I'm Saved

[Bill McCrystyn]

I promised I would rework the image if I had the original LJPEG to work from. Here it is as best as I could. Considering the misque it actually looked pretty good. I never hit the color noise easy button once and the noise level for ISO 3200 was amazingly clean making the job much easier. It kinda has me wondering about a D300 & 300/2.8 VR. OMG did I say that? When I first keyed it up a red warning disclaimer flashed on the screen THIS IS A NIKON IMAGE - DELETE, but I over rode it and pressed on. See what ya think, this is the best I could do. Two hours will be billed at $100 an hour. :) Before and after attached below.

[Bill McCrystyn]

Not destined for the Smith but maybe usable. I have a tiff file if you want it - just holler.

[Jill Davis]

hey bill, nice job!! you'll have a tuff time getting that $200 from him. i'd like to see that!!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bill What did you do? I didn't give it much chance and it has been resuscitated !!!!!

[Bill McCrystyn]

You know Alfred, I really couldn't tell you. I just kept making small adjustments at a time and trying not to let creep sneak in (more and more dark contrast take over). I would work a while and take a break, come back and look at it with a fresh set of eyes and adjust some more. More levels, brightness and contrast than anything being careful not to over contrast. Everytime I would sharpen I would backdown levels, especially whites. Obviously it is not without noise nor tack sharp but I have to tell you the NIkon impressed me. Of course the backgound had to go while still leaving the foreground in DOF focus. Holding the light in the front down while getting the shadows in the back up was the hardest juggle.You can make many versions of this with levels and H/S. It might even take a little more sharpening. Someone else (you guys/ladies that REALLY know PS) might take a shot at it and do better. It was a good exercise. I will get the money - right? :):)

PS below is a similar shot of mine that required much the same treatment. I had been down this road before.

[Harold Davis]

nice going, bill. i wanted to see what everyone else came up with to compare my abilities with everyone else. i have learned again something i have known all my life. everything is subjective. art and photography are no different. i appreciate everyone's time and effort with this photo.

so here's my version processed with capture nx. established B&W control points, lightened overall image a bit and added some contrast, tad bit of saturation and warmth, then NR. after that i added the gaussian blur to the bg, sharped the bird and then another round of sharpening on the eye and the beek.

really interested to see the comments on my rendition also.

thanks a ton again for all the efforts here.

[Harold Davis]

nice job on the cowbird, too mr bill!!

[Bill McCrystyn]

WOW. Harold I like yours better still. Yours is less contrasty than mine and I think I like it better. What do you mean by established black and white control points?? Making the best out of a bad situation. I guess this means I won't get the money. :(

[Bill McCrystyn]

Does twice the file size mean I did twice as much work? :)

[Harold Davis]

in capture nx you can go to the histogram and check a box that says "double threshold", when you do this the entire pic turns grey. there is a slider on the left and right bottom of the histogram. as you gently slide the left slider towards the right, the black areas begin to show in the photo. you then click on the black eye dropper and place it on the first black area to appear. then vice versa with the white.

i dont know if this option is on PS.

thanks again for all the work. believe it or not, it took only about six minutes to render mine with capture nx. i know that statement is going to bite me in the hind quarters, but i can take it.

[Bill McCrystyn]

This is Canon Country - boy. I don't think Capture has that. Is it accomplising what white balance eye droppers do in levels?

[Harold Davis]

Sounds like it, bill.

are you trying to pick a fight with me, cause i got a lot more team members now than i did a year ago and i'll call in the troops!!! al, fabs, the shadles, i could go on, but i think they are all i need!! hehehehe. you funny guy (in your best chinese accent)

[Bill McCrystyn]

I kept comparing the two and couldn't quite put my finger on it. It's the row of weeds in the front of the bird. I kept them to hold the light in front but they are really a clutter and distracted from the subject.

[Harold Davis]

i had to take several looks before i could figure it out. i like having more space between his bill and the bottom of the frame. looks good. now that's something i cant do with capture nx!!

thanks for all the effort, bill, now you should really consider that new D300!! i think you will like it, hehehe. i kiiiidddddd, i kiiiiidddd!

[Bill McCrystyn]

I am considering it. Read Michael Reichman's (a canon guy) Nikon product review The D3,D300 compared to Canon at Luminous Landscape. It backs up what I saw in your image. I have no quams about switching systems, what works best is what I'm after. Porsche or BMW makes no differance to me. Porsche is better - :)

Yea, the weeds were a bother, cloning them out seemed the best way to go.

[Harold Davis]

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4820

better read here. may sway you one way or the other.

[Amy DeStefanis]

I think this was worth the attempt at saving it. I can understand your attachment to it.

When I look at it, I wonder what would happen if some kind of painterly effect were applied (or is that sacrilege to say here?), like a watercolor effect?

I do like the ones better where the foreground is at least identifiable....

[Jim Poor]

Hi Amy,

A more artistic approach was applied to this image in the 12th post of this thread:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5038