Fraternal

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

I am so excited to share with you my first image here with my new 500 lens. Finally got one and I am loving this beast. The light has not been around at all and this shot was taken yesterday which was on a foggy cloudy afternoon. I saw the shot coming so I quick closed down a little more for the dof on both birds. These are both Ibis and I believe the one on our left is a juvenille. I love that they are in different stages of growth yet mirrored poses. NR and selective sharpening crop about 20%
Canon 1DMIV
500mm f4 L IS with 1.4x
ISO 1250
f11 @1/320

[nrohrbacker]

You are off to good start with the 500, good luck. I really the 'mirror' look and the dark BG with lighter feathers. Makes the image pop.

[Henry Domke]

Wonderful image. The beaks crossing symmetrically really make it.
I thought it seemed a bit dark on my monitor so I adjusted the levels as on the attached screen shot. The white on back of the white bird clipped a bit, so I painted on the layer mask to protect them.

Not sure if you prefer this but on my monitor it seems a bit better.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Wonderful image. The beaks crossing symmetrically really make it.
I thought it seemed a bit dark on my monitor so I adjusted the levels as on the attached screen shot. The white on back of the white bird clipped a bit, so I painted on the layer mask to protect them.

Not sure if you prefer this but on my monitor it seems a bit better.

Hi Henry. I actually like the repost better I will make the same adjustment Thanks so much

[Raymond Lee]

Great capture Cheryl! I love the symmetry of the birds, great contrast between them, and good head angles. Ideally, I wish the perch material at the bottom goes all the way across to the right as well. I also find the photo a bit dark (for some reason "stale" comes to my mind) before seeing Henry's touchup. Congrats on the new lens. Some day I will own one too.

[dankearl]

I prefer the OP, I like The darker BG.Very nice to get both sharp in a nice pose.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Great capture Cheryl! I love the symmetry of the birds, great contrast between them, and good head angles. Ideally, I wish the perch material at the bottom goes all the way across to the right as well. I also find the photo a bit dark (for some reason "stale" comes to my mind) before seeing Henry's touchup. Congrats on the new lens. Some day I will own one too.

Hi Raymond. You saw what I saw after I posted and it started to bug me the more I looked. I decided to take away from the left side to match the right side then I cropped tighter on the right which also moved the birds over a little but I like the feel. WDYT?

[Raymond Lee]

Hi Cheryl, the repost looks great at the bottom, however, because of the nice symmetry you've captured, I still prefer beaks crossing at the center of the frame as in your original post. Anyway you can generate some more twigs? It can be challenging. I kind of started roughly, using a bit of cloning and content aware fill, and it's still has a lot more work to do:

[John Cooper]

A great way to christen you new purchse Cheryl..!! There is wonderful symmetry diplayed here and I feel Raymond's treatment of the perch material does emphasize this symmetry even further. Well seen and taken.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Cheryl, I love the interaction your captured! love the pose and I like Henry's repost adjusting the whites.

I personally would no generate branches etc. We are photographers not photoshopers. The photo is great and strong and doesn't need this kind of manipulation to stand out IMO :)

[David Salem]

Great shot and congrats on the new lens. It will change your already great photography. Like your re-post on pane 7 the best. Was a bit dark. Have fun and look forward to more.

[gail bisson]

Hi Cheryl,
Congrats on your new toy.
Excellent first post with it. Great IQ and subject matter. Lots to learn as a birder with this one.
I like the crossed beaks and your quick thinking re:DOF. I like the repost in pane 7. The lack of nest on right doesn't bother me one iota.
I am with Arash re:rebuilding nest.
Gail

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Thanks everyone for the great input. I did one final round. Wasnt comfortable adding more branches so I just eliminated a little on the left and kept the original symmetry. I also lightened it up some

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Cheryl, congrats on your new toy - seems like everyone is getting one except me. I would go for central placement with equal space on either side. Well seen to capture the crossed bills, and both stand out against the darker BG.

[Karl Egressy]

Congratulations on your new lens, Cheryl. If you like it now, you'll love it later. I like all the versions of your picture. It's hard to tell the subtle differences.
Great to have a juvi and an adult in the same frame.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hi Cheryl, congrats on your new toy - seems like everyone is getting one except me.

Don't worry Stuart, I'm keeping you company....

Congrats on the new toy Cheryl! I'm OK with original comp, and with Henry's tweak the image in pane #3 is my fave of the lot. Perfect sharpness, good exposure, nice separation between subject and BG.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Don't worry Stuart, I'm keeping you company....

Congrats on the new toy Cheryl! I'm OK with original comp, and with Henry's tweak the image in pane #3 is my fave of the lot. Perfect sharpness, good exposure, nice separation between subject and BG.

I thought I was the only one who DIDNT have a 500!! Pay Pal baby 18 months no interest!!

[Satish Ranadive]

Congratulations on new lens.
Excellent image.Very nice composition.(I like the repost),great lights and lovely BG.
Love the pose with crossed bills.

Regards,
Satish.

[Shawn Zierman]

I really enjoyed the original post, but subtle tweaks that led to pane#13 are nice as well.
The well composed interaction between the two birds, and the perfect dof to cover it all,
are brilliant features to the image.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Cheryl! I like the poses, interaction, IQ, dark BG and sharpness. Congrats on the new lens.