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Thread: Virginia Rail, midge and grass stems

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    Default Virginia Rail, midge and grass stems

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    I called this bird out of the cattails at Sackville Waterfowl Park a couple of days ago. Here it (assume he) is calling back.

    I cropped for the portrait and felt the need to remove a very OOF blade of grass which just happened to run behind the midge. This entailed a fair bit of work masking off the tiny parts of the insect. Also reduced the noise in the BG.

    I am of two minds about the grass, and I wish the whole bill (and the spit!) were in focus. The light was good but low-level that day (hence the ISO 1600, which I try to avoid with the 1DIV). I could have probably traded off some shutter speed for aperture to get the DoF but as they vocalise the head jerks and I wanted to make sure that was not blurred.

    Comments welcome!

    Date: 14 May, 2013, Time: 0911h
    Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
    Lens: EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4x, @ 700 mm
    Program: Manual
    ISO 1600, 1/1250s, f/7.1
    Flash/beamer ETTL -1 2/3

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    John, great portrait. I think your self critique is right on re: bill and spit. I would try it without the grass and see which I preferred, having said that personally I would have removed the grass.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Hi John,
    A very interesting portrait.
    Love the detail and IQ on the cheek,throat, eye and neck. In a perfect world the tip of the beak would be sharp but the reality of being in the field did not permit this. Definitely not a deal breaker.
    I love the midge! Also like the clear view through the nostril.
    I would remove the grasses. It takes the eye away from the bird and crowds the bird IMO.
    Gail

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    John,

    As you (and others have mentioned) it would have been ideal to get that beak in the focus plane, but nothing you could do about that. You nailed the focus on the eye!

    Great pp work to remove the oof blade that intersected the midge. You left no evidence of it.

    Miguel

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    I love this. I don't particularly mid part of the beak being OOF, and I personally really like the OOF grass as it lends a bit of feeling as to the bird's environment. Your PP is absolutely spot on.

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    BPN Member jack williamson's Avatar
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    This is very interesting. I am on the fence about the blades of grass, everything else is excellent. Plenty of detail on the bird, the midge is a real plus. I can detect no pp work around the midge. Well done.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    John:

    I rather like the blades of grass, but certainly would try a version without, sleep on them, and see which one appeals more over time.

    The head and base of bill or wonderful, the OOF parts are a bit distracting, esp. since our attention is drawn in that direction by the midge and grasses.

    Cheers

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

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    Thanks so far everyone! I will try a version without the grass. More and more I'm trying to avoid removing elements like this and trying to get it right in the camera. I'm not always successful!!!!!

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    John:
    Fabulous portrait. Very nice colors and details.
    I like the open beak and insect below the beak and composition.
    Personally,I will remove the green grass.

    Regards,
    Satish.

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    Agree the grass and midge grabs the eye away from an excellent portrait.
    I would also do a little eye doctoring, perhaps something like this:
    Name:  john1.jpg
Views: 88
Size:  388.6 KB

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    Hi Don- thanks for your work-up. Regarding the eye, it is very difficult to add a catchlight like you have done and make it believable. I would spot this one a mile away. If you look at real catchlights they typically have a few common attributes:

    1. they are irregular in shape
    2. they are hard-edged
    3. they are completely blown or clipped at least in the middle
    4. the area around the actual catchlight is brighter than the area farther away

    All this makes sense, with the exception of maybe (1) when you consider what makes a catchlight- a point-source of light- in natural photography, the sun.

    For me this is all academic because I would not add a catchlight if none were there. I would enhance one by dodging or some other technique if one were there. Catchlights occur in context of the lighting and in flat light like above, they just don't belong IMO.

    Anyway, just to reiterate, I really appreciate you working up the image and providing an opportunity to discuss the subject of catchlights.

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    I like the grasses personally, and the fact the insect has some green on it too. The eye and area around it is very sharp. Good flash work and calling pose. I normally do not worry about DOF except for tight portraits...but the conditions you had were not the greatest for stopping down too much, plus subjects may approach close by surprise too! I prefer the OP...the added catchlight in the repost does not look right to me.

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi John, I like your comp, and the amount of Rail you have presented in the frame. Lovely colours on him. Im fine with the grasses, cool BG, and the insect adds interest.

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    Amazing that you were able to get so close to this guy. I assume you must have been close, if the bill is that OOF at 7.1. That being the case I'm not sure a stop or two would have fixed it. The detail on the head is stunning. For some reason, to my eye, the OOF grass helps to mitigate the OOF bill, if that makes sense -- without the grass the bill seems more troublesome to me. In either case, its a handsome portrait, impressive fieldcraft and great PP work.

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