bosque

[stuart wanuck]

nikon d 300
500 mm

[David Stephens]

Great poses, BG, colors and detail on the cranes.

Why is there so much luminance noise? Even in this relatively small size, it really jumps out.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Stuart, lovely colors. I think you could lighten the shadows on the wings a bit.

[gary ellwein]

Stuart, I like the painterly effect. The symmetry of the cranes is pleasing. The techs of the original image appear to be on the money. I agree with Cheryl that more detail could be teased out of the shadows.

[David Stephens]

Oh wait, you intended for that grain to be there.

May I say, I don't like it. It's to close to luminance noise. I think that if you're going to add grain or texture, you need to go so far that it's clear that it's not accidental, but that's just my opinion. I would prefer plain ole bokeh here.

[Diane Miller]

Dave, this is a sort of watercolor paper texture thing. I'm pretty neutral on it -- it doesn't send me into raptures. But I do greatly admire the formation flying here (and its capture)! Lighter shadows could be a good idea.

[Judy Howle]

Excellent base image Stuart, and a nice painterly effect. I agree about lightening the shadows a bit. The paper texture might be a bit strong, but it doesn't look at all like noise to me. I use that texture myself or a similar one in other plugins.

[Anita Bower]

I like the strong colors to go with the strong shapes of the birds. The texture doesn't bother me. I would crop a bit from the bottom to get rid of that darker band of color, and then a bit from the top. Just my view. I love the position of the birds and how they relate to the background.