Mating Stilts

[Ian Cassell]

Here's the middle image of my Black Necked Stilt mating series

Canon 7D
Canon 500/4 + 1.4x @ 700mm Tripod/Gimbal
1/3200 sec f/6/3 ISO 400
Nik Color Efex Pro 4
Nik Dfine 2.0
CS6

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

This is such great action Ian and the exposure of the whites look good.If this were my image I would be tempted to play with the blacks either in levels or dodge tool or even with the shadow -hilite tool if you are using PS to see if you can lift them a little.. I love that you can really see those killer red eyes. Do you have more room at the bottom of the image? I feel the need for the leg room even though they are not visible.

[Don Lacy]

HI Ian, Great pose and behavior capture here with a nice low angle. Was this a large crop the reason I am asking is I am seeing a lot of noise in the image more so then I would expect for a 7D file at ISO 400 if it was a large crop that would explain some of if not then it's a processing issuer and I might have some suggestions for you on how to correct it in the future. I also pulled it into PS to work on the blacks as per Cheryl comments but they are to far under exposed to get any detail without introducing noise.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks for the comments, folks. No there is no more real-estate as this was essentially un-cropped. I guess I could make more. It was a tough exposure ... balancing the whites so I didn't burn them out with the blacks. I may have underexposed too much.

[Don Lacy]

Ian, If this is a un-cropped image then I am surprised at the amount of noise in it do you mine walking me through you're processing of the image and or post an un-edited version just using the raw converted presets

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Ian,

Did you run NR on the image you don't mention workflow. Often when images are underexposed moving the histogram to the right will introduce noise - just process with an adjustment layer and work the noise out of the image. APTATS and Digital basics explain great methods to accomplish this, send me a PM for more info. Your field techniques and exposure techs are solid and the low angle is very professional!!!

The opportunity here is composition leaving room for the virtual legs, in this case you cut them and that is alright but weakens the image a bit - still a solid capture. Great job with detail, muted background, low-angle, clean well lit eye; all very very well done. This moment in nature is stunning,..you are on the right track,..just remember to balance the entire frame, in this case the bottom was incomplete.

[vishaljadhav]

I think this is a amazing image over all, action perfectly captured, both the birds are in focus and sharp too, the 2 drops at end of the males beak add a lot of interest to my eye.
IMHO there are 3 more things that may put the image over the top
1) NR on the bg
2) bringing out the details in the blacks
3) more leg room at bottom.

Again i am a fan of the way the eyes are captured, really shows a lot in there.

[Jeannean Ryman]

Glad you posted yours too. Really an amazing moment to witness.

[P-A. Fortin]

To me, this image it all about the eyes.

I've never had the chance to encounter this specie. Did you perform any processing on the eyes or is this the way they looked in the wild? In either case, stunning color.