Little black Cormorant

[Tom Rambaut]

7d, 500mm +1.4, 1/400 @ 5.6, iso 320, ev +1.

I have found this image difficult to get right - We are having day after day of overcast weather and thus the skys are this white out colour. I have tried darkening down that background by adding black and blue, but have been unable to get it right. Evan fiddled around with S/H adjustments.

I would also be interested as to the best way to select only the background.

All suggestions considered.

Not all negative - very happy with the pose.

Thanks Tom

[Joe Senzatimore]

Love the pose. Might crop a bit off the top and left side to move the eye closer to the left upper third power point.

[Katie Rupp]

Good suggestions from Joe. I like the sky as is and that overcast light helped you get very nice feather detail.

[Mark Young]

I like the preening pose too and the vert composition. The birds feathers look a bit washed out though, they should be a lot darker than that. Though I don't mind the bg as it is.
I had a play with it and found that if I adjusted the midtone brighteness, contrast and shadows in Curves, then slightly upped the contrast it made the bird a bit darker and a bit more appealing.


Another Longy bird from Thursday? I was there on Friday arvo, but I didn't see the Wandering Tattler though. there was a stunning juv Crested Tern though.

[Tom Rambaut]

Another long reef bird Mark.

I went out on Wednesday and I'm pretty sure that I did not see wandering tattler, only the other type. Looking at the photos on your blog Mark I'm even more convinced that I have not seen a wandering tattler yet. Saw the Double-banded Plover though.

I will try the other comp.

[allanrube]

I am not sure what you want to do with the bg - I like it as is. Good, sharp exposure and eye position

I would select the bird and then inverse to get the bg.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Love the bird, preening pose, perch...and I like the comp as is. I too find the blacks a bit washed out. A simple midtones adjustment to 0.75 did wonders to the image IMO:

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Love the picture, great pose and crop works well for me - repost is over the top.

[Tom Rambaut]

Daniel - I think you nailed it. The repost look far better. Maybe it was the washed out blacks that were the problem.

Thanks :cheers: