Would you keep this

[Don Lacy]

and why you should not leave your flash in the car:(
In order to get a clean image of the Kestrel I had to put my self at a right angle to the sun which resulted in side lighting on the Kestrel. I am trying to convince myself that this is an artistic use of light :) what do you guys think does this work for you or do you find the lighting to uneven for your taste.
Thanks,

[Randy Stout]

Don:
I would keep it. I like the eye contact, body position, perch. I might suggest you apply the solar redirecting/softening filter as shown in the repost. You can do a much better job on the raw.

Cheers


Randy

[Don Lacy]

I might suggest you apply the solar redirecting/softening filter as shown in the repost. You can do a much better job on the raw.
Hi Randy, I have no ideal what filter you're talking about I am still using CS3 and eagerly awaiting the release of CS5 to update to.

[Randy Stout]

Don:

I was just joking about the name. Maybe in CS10:D

In reality, I made a background copy, opened curves, did a mid tone adjustment (brighter) until I like how the shadows looked, then filled the mask with black. To reveal the adjustment just where I wanted it (shadows) I used the 10% brush and painted with white. I also sharpened the right eye, since it lost contrast when brought up. I applied the same tech. on the perch to even it out a bit.

There are probably a dozen ways to help with this, but the lighting was soft enough that you can get away with some tweaks in the shadows.

Cheers

Randy

[Dumay de Boulle]

I like the side light Don and the textures and soft colours are great

[Don Lacy]

Don:

I was just joking about the name. Maybe in CS10:D

In reality, I made a background copy, opened curves, did a mid tone adjustment (brighter) until I like how the shadows looked, then filled the mask with black. To reveal the adjustment just where I wanted it (shadows) I used the 10% brush and painted with white. I also sharpened the right eye, since it lost contrast when brought up. I applied the same tech. on the perch to even it out a bit.

There are probably a dozen ways to help with this, but the lighting was soft enough that you can get away with some tweaks in the shadows.

Cheers

Randy :D
That what I actually did with the original I just seasoned it a little differently.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Don -- A beautiful shot, and you better keep it! Sweet light by the way and the shadow doesn't hurt anything. Nature is full of shadows and if we avoid them 100% of the time, people who depend on us to experience nature will get a very biased view of things.

DB (On his soapbox)

[Randy Stout]

Danny:

My goal is to present images the way the eye sees them, not the camera. Since the eye is a lot better than the camera at dynamic range, we have to help our images to better represent what the eye would see if it was there:)

Cheers

Randy

[Lorant Voros]

Very nice image and it would be a shame to throw it in the trash. Nice rescue from Randy.
Nice pose and I love the look on the bird's face.

[Dave Leroy]

Lovely looking photo. A unigue pose, great colours, and perch adds to photo. Definitely a keeper.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Don, I vote keep. I think this is an interesting pose. I find the raised foot, slightly out stretched wing and the view of the tail feathers pleasing. I like Randy's repost. Definitely worth saving.

[Dave Barnes]

I would also vote for keeping it, i like the pose and feather detail. Randy has shown how it could be improved in PP.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Nice pose and eye contact, loved randys touch too..

[David Thomasson]

I'm late to this party, but I'd keep it ... for all the reasons others have mentioned. If you mask the bird and perch carefully,
you can use curves or shadow/highlight filter to open the shadow details, much like fill flash. I also darkened and blurred the
background to bring the subject out more. Very nice capture!

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/376/keeper.jpg