Theme: Profiling

Attachment 190770

So many enjoyable frames with the Western Grebe, including this one, which was super close.

In case you're wondering, the bottom is the actual bottom of the frame so I chose the composition accordingly. Hand-holding the R5 and 600mm cantilevered out in front of me (sitting up) at water level for several minutes at a time apparently gets exhausting so I got what I could as he cruised by at very close range :-/

FWIW, this is 2x3. I tried 16x9 and it was too short and 5x7 left too much above.

R5
840mm (shot in crop mode)
Handheld
ISO 2000
1/1000
f7.1

LR and PS, DN. No trickeration.

WOWZA! This is fantastic.
Absolutely no nits from me.
Whites and blacks are perfectly exposed. IQ rocks.
The water droplets on the head are so sweet and the definition and clarity and perfect DOF on the bill are perfect.
Not often I use the word perfect!
Only in my dreams would a grebe get this close to me.
Gail

Yes, pretty solid as far as ultra-closeups go! I'm a big fan of tight portraits, so this one has my attention from the get-go. I just photographed a Black-crowned Night-Heron recently and thought its red eye was one of the coolest ones in he bird world...this one rivals it!

Spectacular portrait. No nits from me.

This is getting to be a tough place to post with the fine detail and exquisite processing you do...
You have it down,, Beak is polished like fine jewelry..

Brian, this frame is killer! Techs are top notch and that eye is just awesome. No nits here either...great job!

Not bad:w3 more 3x2? (STUNNING!!):bg3:

DATPCA. Wonderful colors and detail. I would not mind a bit more in front o the bird even at the expense of losing a bit of room behind the head. Glad to see that you are open to head hunting :)

with love, a

ps: FYI, I answered your image rotation question.

Super details and I like the tones, excellent, my one and only suggestion would be to add some canvas, it is a little too large in the frame for me.

I think this must be the closest I have viewed the head, of any Grebe....The feather detail is amazing...Fab control of the blacks and whites...The beautiful red eye adds a colour boost..Nice HA and the BG shows the bird perfectly...The water drops take it up a notch(not that it needed them)....A lot of work has been put in here...including the fieldcraft, perfect exposure, and the processing looks spot on....It has all come together perfectly here, as you can see from the presentation...This is what we all strive for in Bird Photography ....

Well done and TFS

Will

Bang on. Talk about clean and graphic. Killer detail as well.

Of course it is very beautiful, clear and sharp. master work :)


I touched too (personal )
Attachment 190792

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gail bisson

WOWZA! This is fantastic.
Absolutely no nits from me.
Whites and blacks are perfectly exposed. IQ rocks.
The water droplets on the head are so sweet and the definition and clarity and perfect DOF on the bill are perfect.
Not often I use the word perfect!
Only in my dreams would a grebe get this close to me.
Gail

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Gail, don't think I've ever seen you say Wowza, at least on one of my frames. So that's good enough for me, thank you.

Sometimes audio can bring them closer, may be worth a try.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux

Yes, pretty solid as far as ultra-closeups go! I'm a big fan of tight portraits, so this one has my attention from the get-go. I just photographed a Black-crowned Night-Heron recently and thought its red eye was one of the coolest ones in he bird world...this one rivals it!

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Thanks Dan. Maybe too tight for some but thought I'd take advantage of the details.

Post of the Night Heron, can't wait to see!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill Dix

Spectacular portrait. No nits from me.

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So greatly appreciated Bill!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dankearl

This is getting to be a tough place to post with the fine detail and exquisite processing you do...
You have it down,, Beakis polished like fine jewelry..

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Dan, that is incredibly meaningful to say that. I have seen some tremendous posts from you and there are so many great photographers here with great PP skills.

I feel blessed to learn from such a strong resource, including you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kurt Bowman

Brian, this frame is killer! Techs are top notch and that eye is just awesome. No nits here either...great job!

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Kurt, I really appreciate my friend. Glad you enjoy it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paul Burdett

Not bad:w3 more 3x2? (STUNNING!!):bg3:

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Paul, ha thank you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

DATPCA. Wonderful colors and detail. I would not mind a bit more in front o the bird even at the expense of losing a bit of room behind the head. Glad to see that you are open to head hunting :)

with love, a

ps: FYI, I answered your image rotation question.

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Artie, I can certainly see a version pushed left more. Thank you for the suggestion.

Not sure what to say about the rotation deal...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jonathan Ashton

Super details and I like the tones, excellent, my one and only suggestion would be to add some canvas, it is a little too large in the frame for me.

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Jon, thanks for chiming in! I do definitely understand your point on the crop. Sometimes, mixing it up a little bit gets the juices flowing but this one was cut off at the bottom so I had to crop according to room above. Left myself a little handcuffed on this one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by William Dickson

I think this must be the closest I have viewed the head, of any Grebe....The feather detail is amazing...Fab control of the blacks and whites...The beautiful red eye adds a colour boost..Nice HA and the BG shows the bird perfectly...The water drops take it up a notch(not that it needed them)....A lot of work has been put in here...including the fieldcraft, perfect exposure, and the processing looks spot on....It has all come together perfectly here, as you can see from the presentation...This is what we all strive for in Bird Photography ....

Well done and TFS

Will

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Will, that's so meaningful man. It/he/she came in hot on this one and I am elated for that.

And thank you for noticing the effort put in. I spend more than most probably in post but if a few people enjoy it then all worth it :-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Mack

Bang on. Talk about clean and graphic. Killer detail as well.

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John, stoked to hear you feel good about this one. Thank you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Volkan Akgul

Of course it is very beautiful, clear and sharp. master work :)

I touched too (personal )

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Volkan, looks like just taking the contrast slider down? Definitely another good option. I just started to feel it turned too gray so chose to keep the blacks a little richer. Thank you.

Hey Brian, I am late to the party but I echo all the positive comments. Wonderful image, thank you for sharing.

Hi Brian .... another very cool capture !!!
Works very well as presented ... I do see some potential for the darker and lighter tones , to extract a tiny bit more tonal depth as an alternative .
I am worrying slightly about the whites , as you have different hues in them , the whites facing the RHS are " slightly cold " whereas the rest is warm ??? Is the cool hue coming from reflection of the water ???

Stunning IQ all around

I almost bet that Volkan has used the " glorious shadow/highlight :w3 " for his RP .....or something similar from a third party software .

TFS Andreas

merhaba Andreas,

Benim için kolaydı çünkü fotoğraf çok güzel. PS'ye bir vurgu gölgesi ekledim. bölgesel seçime göre.

ps gölge higliht

Brian, Let's see if I can see this while I'm alive :) congratulations