Turnstone

[Richard Unsworth]

Shot at Cleethorpes, Lincs, UK

This time I was lying in the mud and waiting:)

All critique welcome


Sharpening and NR in ACR; Auto levels in CS5


_MG_7470.CR2
Camera Model Name
Canon EOS 40D
Shooting Date/Time
9/4/2010 14:17:03
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/2500Sec.
Av(Aperture Value)
F5.6
Metering Modes
Evaluative metering
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length
400.0 mm
Image size
3888 x 2592
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF mode
AI Servo AF
Picture Style
Neutral
Parameters
Tone Curve : Standard
Sharpness level : -
Pattern Sharpness : -
Contrast : 0
Sharpness : 3
Color saturation : -1
Color tone : 1
Highlight tone priority : Yes
Color matrix
-
Color Space
Adobe RGB
File Size
10201 KB
Dust Delete Data
No
Drive Mode
High-speed continuous shooting
GPS Data
Satellite signal status : -
Date(UTC) : -
Latitude : -
Longitude : -
Altitude : -
Geographic coordinate system : -
Owner's Name

[John Chardine]

I like the portrait Richard. Beautiful warm mud BG, which you were no doubt covered with by the end of this. Sharpness looks good too. The main issue you had to deal with here is strong sunlight which creates a huge dynamic range in the image with bright highlights and deep shadows. You can make this work for you sometimes if the sun is getting lower in the sky and you use flash with the sun behind you if possible. Notice here you have the sun coming over your left shoulder which is causing the bright patch on the breast while the tail is in shadow. If you can move it's almost always a wise move in this case. Or wait until the mobile birds are in the right place while you stay still. In this particular case I think some fill flash would have helped too.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Richard - John has pretty well nailed it - Good HA (angled just a smidgen towards you ) and nice catchlight in the eye - love the low shooting angle - really does make a difference.
Light and the quality of it is really important - agree with Johns suggestions in regards to this.
Keep em coming :)

[Julie Kenward]

Richard, I also agree with the others - it is some harsh sunlight and a repositioning of the body (yours) would have helped but...I still think you did a very nice job. I'd try to lift the shadows with a shadow/highlight adjustment and see if that doesn't soften the overall image a bit more. I'd also consider cloning out some of the larger, darker specs in the BG so it becomes more even.