Yellow-billed Loon

[Michael Liskay]

Thanks to and along with Don Nelson, I got two lifers, Yellow-billed and Red-throated Loons this last weekend at the Ilwaco, WA marina. Here is the Yellow-billed. Canon 1D MkIV, 500 f4 +1.4x TC, ISO 800, 1/1000s, f6.3, +0.67Ev.

[Arthur Morris]

A very nice image of a very rare bird. Love the sharpness and the pose. And the head angle is perfect for the pose. It is a very nice juvenile. In an ideal world the bird would be a bit more to our left in the frame or you would have more room to our right. Say "Hi" to Don for me.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

agree with Artie's comp. suggestion. additionally, I'd also take some off the bottom.

nice details and HA. If mine, I'd reduce the color sat in the water a bit.

[Tom Rambaut]

Agree that the sat. of the water overpowers the subtle colours of the bird. Agree also with comp issue.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hey Mike,
Hope you're doing well. Great shot, nice and sharp. I see a slight blue cast, it's an easy fix... must have been really cold there!

Say hi to Don for me as well.

[Michael Liskay]

I appreciate the constructive comments and the kind words ! Will try repositioning the bird to the left a bit and lowering the blueness of the water!

[Don Nelson]

108516
Mike
If this were my image, I'd make a few changes:
I agree on comments on position. (no fix for that in my simple repost)

Lots of cyan in the water and in the bird. Note feathers on the back have blue/cyan highlights, and also in the breast.
I'd mask the bird and desaturate the blue and cyan, using some dropper points for reference.
I know you use Viveza for this -- I didn't go that route but used a quick select mask.
And also the water needs cyan desaturated (there isn't much blue to desaturate).

here's my attempt on your jpg with those changes -- obviously your results will be better on the tif. Just a suggestion.

[Michael Liskay]

Looks better Don. Thanks