On the hunt - Little Blue Heron

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:

From the shore of the Chagres River, Gamboa, Panama

Processed in Topaz, Pano crop he's a long bird!
Like the detail, habitat, FOOT and HA

Canon 40D, 100-400 1.4 TC

1/1250 f 8, Ev 0, Av mode, ISO 800

[gail bisson]

Very nice image. I like the pano crop and the sense of forward horizontal movement . The vegetation is really pretty. This is your best shot yet Richard.:cheers:Love it,
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the choice of crop that goes with the long neck, looks like the light was harsh and you needed to so some shadow adjustments...

[Mitch Carucci]

The Little Blue can really concentrate! Wish I had that intensity. Nice detail in the dark feathers. Which topaz plugins did you use. I would guess detail?

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:

Hi Arash

Late afternoon blazer from behind!:t3

Hi Mitch

Has his eye on a nice fish though he didnt catch while I was there!

I used Topaz Denoise, have to be really careful with it because it will kill feather detail despite its claims.
I try to run an NR mask action then apply to BG only if possible. My 40D is very noisy at the higher ISO
Use detail2 and In Focus (trials lol) new to these and you have to be careful not to overuse.I am pretty impressed though and will probably purchase.
Having said that get in right on exposure and you wont need them - (easy, not)

I think I saw you use Topaz?

Thanks for posting, appreciate it

[arash_hazeghi]

:S3:

Hi Arash

Late afternoon blazer from behind!:t3

Hi Mitch

Has his eye on a nice fish though he didnt catch while I was there!

I used Topaz Denoise, have to be really careful with it because it will kill feather detail despite its claims.
I try to run an NR mask action then apply to BG only if possible. My 40D is very noisy at the higher ISO
Use detail2 and In Focus (trials lol) new to these and you have to be careful not to overuse.I am pretty impressed though and will probably purchase.
Having said that get in right on exposure and you wont need them - (easy, not)

I think I saw you use Topaz?

Thanks for posting, appreciate it

If the sun was behind you then something is wrong with your processing because the feathers look very unnatural.

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:

Sun position, got that wrong, but hey we all make mistakes, Im old lol, so I can make more

Please qualify why you think the feathers look very unatural:2 IMO they dont

[arash_hazeghi]

Richard, to me they look like they have been painted with ink, this happens when you apply too much noise reduction or when you apply too much highlight and shadow. There are tiny black dots all over the bird that are also artifacts of too much sharpening :S3:

Can you post the original image out of the camera with no processing applied?

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:
sure

here it is

I fear you are correct.....not sure which parameter is wrong (auto in levels puts it way blue) I think
artifacts probably from Topaz detail , micro contrast- I am not liking that plugin atm :eek:

[noelle zaleski]

Richard, the little blue is a favorite of mine.

I like the pano crop for this image and it shows the birds stalking behavior. The foot raised really helps.

It is nice to capture them fishing because they are usually in their "zone" and do not pay attention to us watching them.

My suggestion would be to not use the plug-ins too much. We do not want our subjects to look un natural.

Just a little extra sharpening here in PS

95591

[Mitch Carucci]

:S3:

Hi Arash

Late afternoon blazer from behind!:t3

Hi Mitch

Has his eye on a nice fish though he didnt catch while I was there!

I used Topaz Denoise, have to be really careful with it because it will kill feather detail despite its claims.
I try to run an NR mask action then apply to BG only if possible. My 40D is very noisy at the higher ISO
Use detail2 and In Focus (trials lol) new to these and you have to be careful not to overuse.I am pretty impressed though and will probably purchase.
Having said that get in right on exposure and you wont need them - (easy, not)

I think I saw you use Topaz?

Thanks for posting, appreciate it

Denoise works well for me as long as I don't over use it. I am still learning it, but I find if you get rid of the "color" noise, the "contrast" noise is not really a problem.

I have Infocus, but find it hard to use. I get too much noise buildup, but perhaps I have not mastered it. I prefer Focus Magic.

Try Detail 2 to build internal contrast in dark feathers.

M.

[Richard Unsworth]

:S3:
Noelle

Yep its easy to overdue things. Having said that, with such a small section of opinion/comment personal preference will play its part.

[noelle zaleski]

:S3:
Noelle

Yep its easy to overdue things. Having said that, with such a small section of opinion/comment personal preference will play its part.

I agree 100% :S3:

[WIlliam Maroldo]

I use Topaz DeNoise, and a number of their other programs(simplify,clean, detail,adust) but over the last year or so I think they have tarnished their reputation by making outlandish claims that are easily disproven. Don't get me wrong, they have produced some really good programs, but IMO they have limited utility for basic image editing (with the exception of DeNoise). They excell in the in the creation of digital art.
A prime example is Infocus, which I tested extensively. Instead of upgrading Detail, which is a logical extension, they have a "new" program that is not even as good as Smart Sharpen in PS or the old standby of high-pass sharpening. As far as "revolutionary" deconvolution sharpening goes; it is how smart sharpen works, as well as the detail slider in ACR's sharpening. Claiming to be able to make a sharp image from a blurry image is extremely misleading, and not even possible. If an image is out of focus, why not learn to avoid this by using correct camera technique?
I think they target purchasers are looking for easy fixes and are unwilling to spend the time to learn how to do it in PS. Another example is remask, another program I think can easily be avoided after learning basic masking technique in photoshop, and the claimed time saved isn't worth much if the results are incorrect. I think that people who swear by it are simply unwilling to learn how how to do it in PS.. My opinion of course!
If you want a useful program to "build internal detail" in dark feathers NIK Color Efex Pro (pro contrast preset) is the way to go. BTW, only $99 until 7/5. At least NIK doesn't make outlandish claims with their software, and if they say it does something, it does. my 2 cents~Bill