Sooty Oystercatcher

[Mark Young]

G'day everyone. I took this image this morning of a Sooty Oystercatcher. It's momentarily stopped to check me out as I photograph it.

I would've liked a better bg, but the light was right behind me. Wondering on thoughts of keeping the cungiewoi in shot? Would the image be better with it removed?

Canon 7D 300f4+1.4tc ISO320 1/320 f7.1 +0.7
Approx 85% of FF. Curves, levels etc

[Randy Stout]

Mark:

Nice low shooting angle, attractive bird, with great eye. Perhaps just a bit too much red saturation in the bill. The material in front is OK with me, looks like he is checking it out.

The image looks like it needs just a bit of CW rotation.

re: the BG, I think toning down the luminosity of the brighter areas a bit would help a lot.

Cheers

Randy

[Mark Young]

Thanks Randy.

Here's a repost I did of just modifying the JPEG. I checked the RAW file and the bill is not as red as here, so thanks for pointing that one out. I'll have to keep a closer eye on that one next time.

I did a CWR of just 1 degree, I think it makes the image looks like it's slopping to the right. What do you think?

[Dave Leroy]

I agree the repost does look like it is leaning a bit. There are several horizontal lines in photo and not all match up.

If mine I would try the in focus line bird is standing on and level off that. I would also crop off all or almost all of oof fg.

I would also remove the bit just behind the left foot and see how that looks.

Very nice shooting angle.

Dave

[Daniel Cadieux]

It does look like it is checking you out! I prefer the muted colours of the BG in the repost, but yes it now looks slanted down left to right. I also like the stuff in front and would definitely leave it there. The smaller object behind the feet could go, but it is not too bad. I realize the two white specks were there to start with, but I'd be tempted to remove them for a cleaner finish to this guy. The bird could go a tad darker IMO.

[Randy Stout]

MarK'

Looks like one degree of CW rotation was too much. Perhaps 1/2 would do it. Perhaps no one else was bothered by the original rotation, so go with what looks best to you.

I agree with Daniel about the blacks, they are a bit bright, and would look more realistic if just a bit darker.

Cheers

Randy

[Mark Young]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Regarding the blacks, I usually add some exp comp to get some detail in the blacks, which clips the reds in the process. Is this the best approach to take with these birds?

[Angad Achappa]

The re-post looks great, except for the CW rotation, i like the perfectly horizontal orientation, although a few may differ from me. :)

[Art Kornienko]

The original looked fine for horizontal purposes and didn't need any rotation in MHO. I think the red saturation in the bill is better in the repost and agree with Daniel, it could go a tad darker. Love the angle of the shot and wouldn't change anything else in the shot.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Regarding the blacks, I usually add some exp comp to get some detail in the blacks, which clips the reds in the process. Is this the best approach to take with these birds?

Pushing the histogram to get info well into the 5th box will often result in washed-out raw files and often with some minor clipping to the whites (or reds/yellows). Normal and OK. In post you then tweak to get the blacks in check and adjust to rid the clipping highlights. In other words, you did well here...just needed some levels or curves to get the blacks deeper.

[Mark Young]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting


Pushing the histogram to get info well into the 5th box will often result in washed-out raw files and often with some minor clipping to the whites (or reds/yellows). Normal and OK. In post you then tweak to get the blacks in check and adjust to rid the clipping highlights. In other words, you did well here...just needed some levels or curves to get the blacks deeper.

Thanks for the tips Daniel. I've got another image in this series which I'll PP differently to this one and then post as a comparison.

[Stu Bowie]

Mark, good low perspective, and I like the detail and sharpness. I would darken the BG.