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Hi Clyde
Nice one. That black background works for me. Otherwise it is always difficult to get something decent out of animals in bushes. It would be even better If he had his head lifted from the ground. I´m fascinated by crocs backs, would like to see more of that. And that stick, could you not remove that? ;) There is a lot of blue cast. Is that on purpose? I like the picture though.
TFS / Gregor
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Hi Gregor , And Thank you for your C&C ! To be honest ,I never recognized the stick ,or the Blue cast . I will work on those problems . I'm still learning to see elements like that so thanks for the Help !
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BPN Member
Hi Clyde,
Gregor mentioned already the blue cast, easy to remove. The grass in the FG is for me a tad to sharp! The stick doesn't bother me much, that is how nature looks here or there 
Enjoy your weekend
Ciao
Anette
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Lifetime Member
Hi Clyde - nice to see what looks like a pretty big ol' gator. The blue cast has been noted above. I would also open up the midtones slightly to try to bring out a bit more detail. Seems that you were close given the lens so I can understand if you did not want to lay down to get a lower pov but it might have taken it up another notch. Also for me it feels a bit tight below. I hope you'll post more in Wildlife and also comment on other people's images.
TFS,
Rachel
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Originally Posted by
Anette Mossbacher
Hi Clyde,
Gregor mentioned already the blue cast, easy to remove. The grass in the FG is for me a tad to sharp! The stick doesn't bother me much, that is how nature looks here or there
Enjoy your weekend
Ciao
Anette
Thank You Anette ,You're help is greatly appreciated !
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Originally Posted by
Rachel Hollander
Hi Clyde - nice to see what looks like a pretty big ol' gator. The blue cast has been noted above. I would also open up the midtones slightly to try to bring out a bit more detail. Seems that you were close given the lens so I can understand if you did not want to lay down to get a lower pov but it might have taken it up another notch. Also for me it feels a bit tight below. I hope you'll post more in Wildlife and also comment on other people's images.
TFS,
Rachel
Hi Rachel ,Thanks for the welcome . The blue cast is easy enough ,But would you elaborate on what you mean, as to "opening up " the midtones ? As far as getting lower , Well...I was pushing MY fear factor already. lol . Of course ,had I known he was blind................ Nope still would not have placed myself any closer or lower .I will post and comment more in Wildlife ,however my "Wildlife " consist mainly of White tail Deer .Not nearly as spectacular as most of the post found in here . Thanks again .
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Lifetime Member
Hi Clyde - opening up the midtones can be done a few ways but one of the easiest is to do a levels adjustment only on the gator and moving the middle slider to the left. I would say somewhere around 1.10-1.15.
We welcome all wildlife so don't hesitate to post and there's been a recent discussion that we don't see enough grazers. White tail deer would be welcome.
Rachel
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Post a Thank You. - 1 Thanks
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Clyde, I didn't see your processing technique -- that's always helpful to include. If this is a RAW file, the best place to lighten midtones is in the RAW converter, and especially if it is a recent version of ACR or LR that has the Process 2012 Shadows and Highlights sliders. They are extremely powerful in expanding dynamic range. Once you get into PS, where you can use Levels or Curves, the tones are burned into the file and you have much less leeway (tonal information) to bring up darks or bring down highlights.
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Originally Posted by
Diane Miller
Clyde, I didn't see your processing technique -- that's always helpful to include. If this is a RAW file, the best place to lighten midtones is in the RAW converter, and especially if it is a recent version of ACR or LR that has the Process 2012 Shadows and Highlights sliders. They are extremely powerful in expanding dynamic range. Once you get into PS, where you can use Levels or Curves, the tones are burned into the file and you have much less leeway (tonal information) to bring up darks or bring down highlights.
Thanks once again Diane . At one point I did have an "Etched-in-stone " workflow . Then again at one point I thought I had a clue as to what I'm doing . However ,The more time I spend on here ,the more I have come to realize "I DON"T HAVE A CLUE !!! " LOL .Basically my workflow in the past were good steps followed by, simply wrong steps ,mainly due to "Over" doing the pp. Same goes with this last posted photo . I am going to resort to setting the white balance ,setting the white and black points in ACR (8.2 now ) maybe doing some sharpening ,lens correction as well as "Opening up " the midtones ,or should I say ,adjusting highlights and shadows to gain the most dyn. range . Clean-up will be done in CS6 and then save for web . I also am going to Re-read Digital Basics .4th time ,Each time I read it ,I gleam more from it . Just kind of starting over and eliminating bad habits . I really don't have a problem with using layers and mask , as well as some more advanced techniques . MY problem really comes down to recognizing color cast , recognizing critical sharpness ,as well as finding the best possible composition .( Basic kind of stuff ,I thought I was past already) Once I go through those three doors .....Well I'm Shure there will be more doors behind them ...But I'm having a Blast , And it makes life worth living some days . Sorry for getting long winded ,but It may give some insight as to where I am on my "Photographic Journey " which also may help on your cc. Thanks again
Clyde
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This stuff is a journey.... For all of us. But a very rewarding one.
Sounds like you have a good basis for workflow. The general advice is to do everything you can in RAW, and generally work from the top down, but go back up to tweak sliders as needed. Every image is different.
You'll hear a lot of advice about fixing things in PS, but often they are things that are better fixed in RAW conversion, such as basic tonality issues. Once you are in PS all the tonal corrections have been glued into the image, just like in a JPEG. There is a lot less leeway to work with for any major changes. A few years ago we didn't have so much leeway in the RAW converters as we do now, so people more often thought in terms of fixing things in PS.
You can't beat PS for sophisticated masked adjustments, but for global fixes, going back to the RAW is often the best.
The best way to improve is just by experience, by the number of images you process.
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BPN Viewer
Hi Clyde,
Nice job on removing the blue on the repost. Color looks spot on. I personally don't think it was necessary to blur the FG grass but like many of the critiques on the site, it comes down to personal taste.
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Originally Posted by
Steve Canuel
Hi Clyde,
Nice job on removing the blue on the repost. Color looks spot on. I personally don't think it was necessary to blur the FG grass but like many of the critiques on the site, it comes down to personal taste.
Thank You ,Steve . Yea ,I realize once I pass the technical parts it then comes down to personal choices and style .It's all good though ,as I ,as of yet, have not found "My" Style . But will .