SAGE GROUSE

[gary ellwein]

This is one of 10-12 sage grouse encountered in the Centennial Valley on the Montana Idaho border last week. D7000, Nikkor 600mm, f11, 1/320, iso 800, EV+1, beanbag on truck door. Crop approximately 50%, Minimal post processing. I dialed in the f11 in an attempt to get multiple birds in focus (not successful). C & C appreciated.

[arash_hazeghi]

great pose and nice display of habitat. The image is a bit too bright/washed out.

[gary ellwein]

Thanks Arash, I agree. Repost darkened with levels.

[Randy Stout]

Gary:

The repost certainly helps the bird pop more, looks better. I don't know this bird well enough to judge how accurate the feather colors/luminosity are. I find it easy to overdo it and make the plumage look unnatural.

Good shooting angle and sense of the environment.

Cheers

Randy

[Melissa Groo]

Nice job on the repost, Gary, this brings your image more to life. I like the alert pose and the habitat.

[Marina Scarr]

Your levels adjustment made a big improvement. I might also consider a slight CW rotation since all of the darker, thinker "grasses" are leaning ever so slightly to the left. You may also wish to consider taking a little bit off the top so your image will look less square.

[arash_hazeghi]

repost looks good, I might bump the sat a bit more

[gary ellwein]

Thanks to Arash and Marina for your suggestions. I'll keep the saturation as is. An increase in the saturation would make the habitat unnatural for this time of year. The vegetation is dry and colorless. The multiple large wild fires in the state underscores the point. Heavy smoke does produce some sweet light.


Marina, I did take some off the top ( improvement ) and did a small clock wise rotation. I did not appreciate the rotational issue until you brought it to my attention.