Juxtaposed Least Terns

[Arthur Morris]

I created this image at Matanzas Inlet on the way home from the St. Augustine Bird Fest gig with the Canon 800mm, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D MIV. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/160 sec. at f/16 in Av mode.

With the light increasing slowly, a middle light subject and a light background working in Av mode was best for me; fast and simple and no need to change anything....

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

For lots of Alligator Farm lessons check out the recent blog posts here (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2011/05/04/photoshop-and-in-the-field-tips-and-tricks-st-augustine-alligator-farm-mystery-solved-2/#comments) (and scroll down).

[dankearl]

I would remove the blurred foreground, it doesn't add much and detracts from the image.
I like the "ghost" bird, it would be nice if the branch behind the subject was in focus, but probably not possible.
The subject TERN looks very nice.
I would also crop the yellow caste off the top and make this a pano with just the subject and the ghost image behind.

[Peter Hawrylyshyn]

Artie
Like the concept, "ghost bird", colors, low angle, ...

Unsure why the whites above and behind the bill lack feather detail- look "blown" yet measure around 220-230.

If mine : I'd mask out the grey shell/clam in LLC and soften edges of the brown reed/stick running up along left edge, but that's personal taste

[Tom Rambaut]

Leave it. I like the OOF shell (?) in the foreground and if you took out the OOf foreground it seems that you would cut the shell in half. Even if you cut off the OOF foreground below the shell you would still be back at square one with an OOf forground. I do however think that if there was another cm or two of foreground then it would be too much.

I like the plant/flower in the backgrond - sort of frames the image.

Having read through the AV vs Manual thread - no comment.

[Ofer Levy]

Exposure and sharpness look fine to me although I can't see much detail on the cheek. Eye contact is good too. However, the following factors make this image a borderline keeper IMHO (if it was a really rare bird:w3 ):
OOF bird at the BG, stick behind the subject, OOF dead butterfly(?) in the FG, oof flower and stem on the left. Composition is not great but that can be fixed.

[Roger Clark]

Artie,

I think the lack of feather detail is in part due to the very low phase angle.

I agree with Ofer's assessment.

Roger

[Arthur Morris]

Artie,

I think the lack of feather detail is in part due to the very low phase angle.

Roger

Roger, Are you suggesting that I should have moved left or right, or gotten higher (to increase the phase angle)?

[Roger Clark]

Roger, Are you suggesting that I should have moved left or right, or gotten higher (to increase the phase angle)?

Hi Artie,

Yes, right or left. I like the low angle, so not higher unless one needed to get above a foreground object. Moving about 10 degrees to the left (not sure how many feet that would be) (or right) would start to show some shadows, even at the micro level of the feathers, thus showing more fine detail.

Roger

[Arthur Morris]

Thank you kind sir. I shall try it. One is never too old to learn something new.

[Marina Scarr]

While you know I am a lover of photographers which include the environment, this one gave me quite a bit of pause for thought. So I came back to it again today. I love the main subject. The light is gorgeous, and I like the pose. What poses the biggest problem for me is the shell/stone right in front of the bird which I find quite distracting. If that were out, and with a tad off the bottom and right, I think this capture would be more pleasing.

[Arthur Morris]

Many thanks to all of those above who helped me improve this one a lot. Did pretty much all of what was suggested and a bit more. Questions on how I did what are always welcome :).

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Artie, repost really rocks. low angle, exp, whites....terrific terrific. I like OOF juxtaposed birds...and I also am liking the oof yellows. The peach color shades in the FG-BG is what I think really make this one so pleasing.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks KD. Aside from the obvious clean-up stuff I painted a Quick Mask of the stem and the leaves on the left and ran a 40 pixel Gaussian blur; I use that technique often with bushes and other vegetation.

[Randy Stout]

Artie:

Sorry to be late to the party, but the repost addresses all of my concerns with the OP except one. I like the inclusion of the yellow plant material as it repeats the yellow in the bills.

The one remaining item is the dark stick. It seems almost too dark, harsh, and seems to detract from the somewhat dreamy feel to the image. Works well with it, but wonder how it would look without.

Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

The RP works way better in every way. The capture is now a keeper. While the stick doesn't exactly float my boat, and probably doesn't float yours, I think you have made it work for you here.

[Stu Bowie]

Great low perspective Artie, and you have nailed the exposure and sharpness. I do like the pastel colours of the BG, and your repost works well.

[Arthur Morris]

I am fine with the stick, in fact, for me it adds quite a bit. And I would not even think of removing something so major in an image. The bird chose to nest next to the stick, probably for a good reason so removing it would be quite tampering with the natural history of the scene. A fine line if you consider that I routinely remove distracting branches or twigs from images of perched bird.... But none-the-less, it is a fine but distinct line to me.

[Tom Rambaut]

Ok, I think I have learned that you can always improve an image and the second image is certainly easier on the eye. I do however still like the first image with all its debris scattered around and the yellows of the plants matching the yellow in the bills: as Randy pointed out.

Arthur could you explain that blur technique?

[Arthur Morris]

Paint a Quick Mask, put it on its own Layer, and run the Gaussian Blur. All that and tons more is explained in detail in our Digital Basics File (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=252), an e-mail-able PDF.

[Krijn Trimbos]

Hi artie,

Great PS work done and the repost looks great. I would still consider losing the darker twig behind the tern though. I do however love the OOF tern in the BG and the intimate mood of the tern on its nest with lovely light!