retreating storm

[Mitch Carucci]

Flood!

Yesterday's thunderstorms left interesting clouds as the storms retreated. I was looking for a subject to bring into the scene. Early this morning I found this osprey. I toned down the warm color of the light on the osprey, but I wanted some color contrast so I left some warmth in. Does this work, or is the light too different for this image?

Thanks.

M.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Mitch, the clouds and light in the water are beautiful. I could see cropping the dark ripple from the bottom (although it is lovely). It would be nice if there were a little more definition in the osprey's head. But - it is a lovely image. (We're getting Tropical Storm Debby so have been getting much needed rain here).

[John Storjohann]

Mitch, it is a good image in so many way...color, mood, dramatic cloud structure...Cheryl makes some good suggestions...in addition to cropping some from the bottom, I'd suggest cropping some from the LHS as well, leaving the osprey less centered. Nice, contemplative image.

[Brendan Dozier]

Love the mood, light, reflections to this, Mitch, and nice pose captured of the osprey. Some good suggestions to make it even stronger.

[Indranil Sircar]

Mitch... this is now my new favorite of yours! Wonderful composition... the bg cloud is awesome! I also like how you positioned the osprey. Very nice.

[denise ippolito]

Mitch, I love, love, love the sky and the reflection. Nice positioning of the Osprey I only wish his head were clear of the wings a bit more.

[Maureen Allen]

Hi Mitch - Beautiful background for your osprey. I think this already very strong image might be improved if the osprey were to blend a little more seamlessly with the background. There are many ways to do this. One trick I've used is subtle but quite effective. After placing your selection on the background, make a copy of the selection. Make sure that layer is beneath your original selection. Now apply a generous gaussian blur to the copy. If you keep the original selection layer visible, you'll see the edges start to soften slightly and your bird blend a little better with the background. In the repost, I did that, then applied low opacity nik color efex/tonal contrast and classical soft focus and desaturated the bird slightly. Just something different to try, if you like

[Hazel Grant]

thanks, Maureen. I've always just run by hand a small blur around the edges, but your method would be much more effective and efficient.
Mitch, love the water effect, but you are right in wondering about the osprey. It does tend to look a bit pasted on in the original. That slight blur technique would make it blend into the background without affecting the whole bird's sharpness. Nice comp

[Bob Miller]

Hi Mitch! This is a really cool image....I think it may my favorite of yours.....I think you handled the light well but agree a softening of the edges after remask makes for a better blend. I like your crop as is. Very Nice work!

[Mitch Carucci]

Maureen,

I just saw your reply. Thank you for your comments, and especially for your detailed suggestions. I am always looking for new techniques, and you have given me something new to try!

Mitch