Hen Harrier over Reeds (Part 2)

Same bird, same photo, different crop. I completely reworked the levels adjustments to make the scene a bit darker and to increase the contrast. Some selective sharpening around the face area. All adjustments done in LR3.

Canon EOS 7D, EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 1.4x TC, Gitzo GT3531 Mountaineer tripod, Gitzo GH3780QR ballhead

1/800 sec at f/4.0; ISO 200

Hi John, in this case I don't think the image quite stands up to the heavy crop, the detail is lacking in the feathers. I liked your original post of this image, and would be happy to get similar.

I think the crop shows by the overall lack of detail in the bird. I bet these harriers are tough as nails to get close to so unless you can do that you won't have much luck with the shots. They are gorgeous though and I am sure you did the best possible under the circumstances. All negatives aside, the BG is very nice and complimentary to the raptor and maybe some linear burn on the tail white patch would improve the image. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more.
:)

I should add - the pose, position in frame, and background are all great, just that the detail is starting to go with the size of the crop.

Thanks for the feedback. Actually at HR it looks ok, but 1024px at 72ppi....I use LR3 to automatically create a file that is less than 180Kb - perhaps the jpg compression is making it softer? Anyway, I agree that the image is not "tack sharp" at 100%. I will try the same location again and maybe use f/5.6 and a higher ISO to keep the SS speed up while increasing the DOF somewhat...

I like your idea to work the same location with a faster shutter speed. That's what I intend to do at the Bosque this weekend with one of hour Northern Harriers. One piece of advice; never drop below ISO 400 for BIF photography. On a bird like this, it's OK to underexpose a little (a third or so) and bring things up in post; that will give you an even faster shutter speed.

Thanks Doug - I think I will use the blind and use the 300/2.8 native to get better AF speed and accuracy as well...using the blind I should be able to get quite close if I can position it in the right spot (and avoid the duck hunters!) Monday morning is looking good :o

John this is a beautiful image. Love the pose and composition. I think you could have gotten away with a bit more sharpening on the bird.

I know how hard these are to photograph - with their erratic flight patterns, built in AF jammers, etc. :)

I've got a few harriers wintering at my local wildlife refuge. Absolutely magnificent to watch them hunt. Still trying to get my holy grail shots! Keep at it!

Charles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Wright

Thanks for the feedback. Actually at HR it looks ok, but 1024px at 72ppi....I use LR3 to automatically create a file that is less than 180Kb - perhaps the jpg compression is making it softer? Anyway, I agree that the image is not "tack sharp" at 100%. I will try the same location again and maybe use f/5.6 and a higher ISO to keep the SS speed up while increasing the DOF somewhat...

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BTW I had sharpness problems with lower res JPGs exported from LR3. There's an option to sharpen the JPG after export that helps a bit, but the best way I have found is to export a full size JPG and resize in photoshop, then selectively sharpen the resized image.

Charles

Thanks for the comments and tips, Charles - I'll give them a go! :)

Following Charles' advice, I completely redid the post-processing. I still used LR3 for all adjustments except sharpening. I then exported the file to PSE 9 and converted to 8-bit. Then I resized the image, selected just the bird, applied sharpening and saved as a jpeg. This is the result - quite a difference! :cool:

The repost is definitely an improvement - I opened 2 windows and put them side by side. Still hitting the resolution limit of course, but in my opinion you've got yourself a decent print here.

Charles

Thanks Charles! :)