MOOSE

[gary ellwein]

Nikon D3s, Nikkor 600mm, f5.6, 1/60, EV+0.33, iso 400, clear, late evening, bean bag on the window of my truck. This fellow was bedded down near a large patch of willows with another bull. The moose tend to favor the area in the late summer and autumn. C & C appreciated.

Gary

[Kerry Perkins]

Gary, really nice composition and portrait of the young bull! That wary eye is super and the environment is wonderful. I would suggest just a smidge more sharpening and I would paint out those small bluish cast areas on the back of the head middle of the antlers. Very nicely done, I like it a lot!

[nancy hazen]

What a great capture! I love "the look" he is giving you as well!
Nancy

[gary ellwein]

Kerry, thanks for the look and suggestions. Repost incorperates an attempt to get rid of blue cast on antlers and nape of neck with additional sharpening. I used a quick mask on the neck and clone stamp on antlers. I tried using a brush but lost texture. How would you have approached the problem?

Gary

[Kerry Perkins]

Gary, one of the best tools in Photoshop for this kind of fix is the humble brush tool. For this image, I first adjusted the color balance a bit using "color balance". I don't know why more people don't use this tool, as it allows you to adjust color independently of the luminance. I lowered the blue level in the mid-tones and shadows and added a touch of green in the same ranges (maybe a tad too much, but I did this very quickly). Then I took a brush tool, nice and soft, and used the eyedropper to pick a color from an area that had no blue cast. Using that color in my brush, I just painted over the bluish areas and here is the result. One of the best ways I know to remove small areas of color cast. Added a touch of USM also.

[gary ellwein]

Thanks Kerry, I am one of those who rarely uses color balance. Once again, birdphotographers has opened up a new area of exploration.

Gary

[Stan Cunningham]

Gary,
Kerry always has great comments.
I think on your repost you did what I often do and oversharpened, at least it's how it looks on my monitor.
The eye expression makes this photo and light flowers in front contrast well with the dark brown.
TFS
Stan

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Yes, blue cast removed look better. I like the pose and the habitat is great. Beautiful flowers and grass really complements the image and makes it stronger. Repost is over sharpened but know you are woking on this. IMO, wish the nose was not obstructed by flowers. Overall composition is excellent and the techs look good for low light. Love the image and great moment in nature.

[Grady Weed]

I love the fowers "hiding" the bull moose here, as if you can hide a mose. Good framing. TFS.