Osprey backside bank.

[dankearl]

This was a goal of mine this weekend, I had never taken one and was inspired by all the great shots I see here.
Harder to get than they look.
Blurred BG in PP
C & C very much appreciated.

1/1000
f6.3
iso400
600mm (300 F2.8 vrii w/ 2xTC)

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af332/dkearl/DSC_9149nx3_2-1.jpg

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Dan,
The top side view is very nice and shows all the details, as presented it looks a bit over-sharpened in fact some parts have become a bit grainy. the whites in the head are blown and have no detail, I guess the original was overexposed(?).

The main issue with this image IMO is however the BG. It looks somewhat unnatural. In order to get a nice bokeh and blur you have to achieve it in-camera with combination of focal length and aperture. The blur in photoshop is a Gaussian blur filter which is not equivalent to the natural bokeh from lens optics. I would avoid blurring the BG in Photoshop.

Hope this helps

[dankearl]

Arash, I appreciate your comments. I took at look at the original again and just tried too hard.
I have learned a lot here in a short time, you are blunt sometimes, but maybe the best photographer here in my opinion.
Thank you.
Here is pretty much the original, just cropped and sharpened slightly.
I thought the dark spots (shadows on the far side bank) distracted from the bird, so tried to get rid of them.
Probably should just try for a better shot.
It does look better now. I should just trust my own instincts, I didn't mind the original, but just looked at it too long
and thought it needed fixing.

http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af332/dkearl/DSC_9149dk.jpg

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Dan,
It's great that you have found this forum helpful. The original looks much better, both in terms of sharpness and BG. notice how the feathers are smooth yet sharp and detailed, you nailed the focus (good job with the 2X TC BTW) so the image does not need much sharpening. maybe only a slight contrast adjustment. BG is not the best but it is much better than the blurred version, you can run some NR in order to smooth it just a little bit. The only remaining issue is the loss of detail in the whites, but I am sure you will nail that too in your next shoot.

great flight work

[Dumay de Boulle]

Repost looks better for IQ and detail.I like the pose and Arash has covered the nits. So good effort.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Excellent stuff from Arash.

you got a very nice dorsal view and good AF work. BG isn't great(but I dont think it is bad) but better to leave it that way than blur in PP. You might want to select the BG and do some curves work to tone down the bright areas. And some NR as Arash said.

[gail bisson]

Hi Dan,
The repost is great. The BG has issues but what a great excuse to go out in the field and try again...but then, do any of us need an excuse to go out and shoot!:w3
Well done,
Gail