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Thread: The Pounce

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    Default The Pounce

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    I found this Coyote hunting just East of Canyon in Yellowstone. I watched for several minutes until I noticed he spotted something. I was really happy to get this frame right in the middle of his pounce. After the pounce he came up with a Vole which I took several pictures of.

    Canon 7D, 500mm f4 @ f5.6, ISO 400, 1/800, handheld and manual exposure. Used Lightroom for global raw adjustments.

    All comments greatly appreciated.

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Doug, very good capture, love the arched back, classic pounce pose. As you say, nicely positioned in frame.

    Perhaps upping the ISO would help in nailing the action a fraction more, so you really do, freeze that moment, but no deal breaker, just my take.

    Look forward to seeing the 'Prize'.

    TFS
    Steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    Hello Steve,

    Thanks for the review and comments.

    I'm wondering since all my adjustments were made globally in Lightroom if I went back and used local sharpening and noise reduction either via Nik Software or Photoshop CS5 that might help make the Coyote pop. I'm open to all suggestions. I feel like I have the most to learn on the post processing side.

    Thanks

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    Wildlife Moderator Steve Kaluski's Avatar
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    Hi Doug, if you have 'Globally' made adjustments whatever you do will affect ALL areas, which is not ideal. You want to target key areas and be selective i.e. if you have sharpened then you should only apply this to the subject, not the BKG IMHO. I rarely use NIK Software, all the final 'tweaks' are in PS, but that is a personal choice, if you feel happy toggling between the two, great. Again, through personal choice I will use a Third Party NR software, where I can apply specific amounts and be very selective. Overall I think it's a great image, I quickly looked at it and just dropped the Yellow, applied a Curves adjustment using a B/W channel to add some contrast to the subject and then applied some more selective sharpening. I think it helps define things more in what you have captured, but you can be more accurate with the original RAW file rather than a web image. Looking at it on the web the red I think needs taking down, but suggest you download the RP and view in PS.

    Hope this helps.

    steve
    Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.

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    BPN Viewer Tom Graham's Avatar
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    Oh yeah, Steve's repost, the Coyote is much better, sharper, more contrast, cleaner looking.
    Tom

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Doug - nice timing on the pounce and I like the comp and the fall tones of this. Steve's repost has taken it up a notch.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Thanks Steve for the suggestions and repost. I see what I can do on local adjustments in CS5 this weekend and post another version.

    Also, thank you Tom and Rachel for your comments.

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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Terrific image with great action captured here. The repost works much better in terms of colors and sharpening. Really like how the the coyote is so well camouflaged in its environment.
    Marina Scarr
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    Okay, here's my version 2 with high pass sharpening on the Coyote only and a Gaussian blur on the background.

    Any thoughts on this?

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Doug,
    like the pouncing shot you have taken, excellent timing though.Other techs would have been better , but not to change afterwards.

    Like the colors and composition of the OP and RP.But you did not nail the sharpening and contrast in either post for me .Do not understand why you used the GB on the image .
    Steve pointed out the way you should go, i would play around with Steve`s suggestions, normally a good idea to follow his paths . Does not mean copying it , moving left and right and find your own way is the way to go!!

    The coyote in RP looks even worst than the one in the OP, at the moment i prefer Mr Details version , sorry Doug.

    TFS Andreas

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    Thanks for the candid feedback Andreas. I agree Steve did a nice job.

    I worked through several more versions and have one I prefer. Main things are sharpening on the Coyote and I have added contrast to the front half of the body. The coyote in this version is brighter than Steve's and I think I like that better.

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Hi Doug
    Late to this one. Nice pose and timing! Main critiques already given...so will give my 2c on the reposts.
    I like the contrast and IQ in Steve's version best, but the brightness of coyote in your last version best.
    Your last repost shows a definite drop in IQ from the OP...did you work it from the high res RAW or TIFF? Or from the JPG? Remember that you destroy detail and quality every time you rework a JPG...
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Hi Morkel,

    Thanks for the comments. I'm not sure about why the image quality would appear lower. I'm very new to using Photoshop and creating layers and such. I've been doing all most PP work in Lightroom till this point.

    One main difference I can think of from the original post and what Steve posted. On that I had global sharpening (107 w 1.3 radius, detail 25 and masking 46) and a little noise reduction (15 luminance 57 color). For my repost I imported the Lightroom raw file without any sharpening (removed default level too) and only did sharpening on the Coyote.

    Is it potentially the fact that there is absolutely no sharpening on the background that makes it look like a lower quality?

    Lots for me to learn here.

    Thanks

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Doug, the coyote itself lacks "quality" (I pretty much mean clarity, sharpness, definition). The BG doesn't affect it IMHO.
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Thanks Morkel. I suspect my High Pass Sharpening attempt in Photoshop CS5 caused the issues. I'll try another sharpening method. Maybe smart sharpening.

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    BPN Member Steve Uffman's Avatar
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    Doug, like you I come here to learn...these folks are great teachers...great capture and Steve gave you an idea of the potential...

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    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Schurman View Post
    Thanks Morkel. I suspect my High Pass Sharpening attempt in Photoshop CS5 caused the issues. I'll try another sharpening method. Maybe smart sharpening.

    If it's any help, I detest the look of High Pass Sharpening .
    I know Steve prefers USM to Smart Sharpen, while I like it the other way round. Both those methods should serve you well. I use Smart Sharpen in small iterations. 125%, 0.2 or 0.3px radius.
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Here's one using the USM. I tried Smart sharpening but I couldn't get it to sharpen as well on this image as USM worked.

    This has been a great exercise for me. I really need to spend some time learning selections, masking and making specific adjustments to masked areas.

    Thanks all.

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