Falkland Islands Shag

[pat lillich]

one of the last days on our trip to South Georgia and the Falklands we had an incredible rush of shags coming in to nesting - unfortunately they mostly came about noon and the light was harsh - but a few came in later around 3pm as well. I had some things messing with my mind on this trip and am really kicking myself for missing so many opportunities - wish I had upped the iso to at least 800 and gotten a little more depth of field on this guy, but they were coming in over a very messy background and i wasn't quick enough to make the change when this guy was in the clear.

canon 1dmk4, 400mm f4/ DO 1/1600 sec at f/5, iso 500, handheld

cropped a little in LR, nik detail extractor, tonal contrast and sharpening on bird

[Henry Domke]

What a cool bird!
It looked a bit over-sharpened to me. Just a bit crunchy.
I thought it might look better with a sky that had a bit more blue in it.
What do you think?

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Pat, I hope that you are doing great. The image is nice and sharp on the eye and I like the bird's position. I think that Henry is on the right track, but. I am pretty sure that the problem is caused by an overdoes of Detail Extractor...

[Nick Palmieri]

Nice capture. I like the position of the bird in the frame. The blue eye is cool. Maybe a few borderline hot spots on the neck and wing. I also wish the sky was a bit darker..or more blue. TFS

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Pat, good flying pose, head separated from the far wing nicely, and I like the blue eye ring. Sharpening looks fine, and agree, maybe darkening the sky will work better.

[pat lillich]

thanks for input guys - i never am sure, if the sky is pretty white in the capture, is it appropriate to make it more blue? I originally thought about it and decided against it - always appreciate help in learning. this was a pretty scraggly Shag to begin with, but felt like a kindrid soul. they do have beautiful blue eyes.

thanks Artie - I'm much better now, though obviously I can't see at all. Will have to go deal with that before I try to process any more pics. But i redid this one abit, decreased the tonal contrast layer, and made the sky bluer.

hope this repost is a bit better, and thanks!

[Arthur Morris]

Much better on the bird without the too much Detail Extractor (I think--not Tonal Contrast). But, the sky has a big cyan cast that nobody mentioned. I put the bird on its own layer, went back to the BKGR, and did an average blur color balance (as described in Digital Basics) and went for the white sky/high key look.