Eurasian Jay

[Holger Leyrer]

Hello,

here is another bird from my bird feeding place. At time i have four Jay's on my feeding place.
They are crazy about Peanuts. They come and go always together. Never alone.



Canon 1D MKIV * Canon 800 5.6 * f/6.3 * 1/2500s * ISO 400 * Berlebach * Sachtler

All comments welcome

[Henry Domke]

Everything works on this classic pose.

Did you add red to the background? I ask because there is a patch of red/magenta where the wing touches the birds back. Is this a masking error?
The wide tonal range looks great but I wonder if would be possible to pull some more detail out of the darkest areas.

[Jonathan Ashton]

A fine shot Holger I too would suggest the blacks are a little dark. Regards peanuts they are a great bait. I use them also then when I know the jay as opposed to magpies are coming regularly, I replace the peanuts with acorns , I keep a small container of them in the freezer,I thought my wife wouldn't find them under the frozen peas because she doesn't, like them.....I was wrong!

[Holger Leyrer]

Did you add red to the background? I ask because there is a patch of red/magenta where the wing touches the birds back. Is this a masking error?

No adding red. The BG are common hornbeam bushes. The morning sun touch the brown leaves and make this Color. Only in PS i make it just a little bit brighter.
You are right. The blacks are really a little too dark.

I replace the peanuts with acorns

Good idea for next year. Perhaps that is why no magpies come to me

I keep a small container of them in the freezer,I thought my wife wouldn't find them under the frozen peas because she doesn't, like them.....I was wrong!

[Randy Stout]

Holger:

Well captured, nice head position, colors go well together,good advice from the guys. I like the perch on the end of the stick, displays the feet well.

Cheers

Randy

[Marina Scarr]

Love the light, pose and colors here. The super background (BG) complements your bird well.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Lovely warm colors, pose and comp. Gorgeous bird. A neat image, all in all.

[John Rowell]

Very pleasing to look at, you've done a nice job with sharpness and detail in all but the blacks. I love those blue wing feathers, they just pop off the rest of the colors in this bird.

[Bill Dix]

Perfect pose, nice complimentary background and perch. What a nice bird to have in your backyard.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Fun to hear that jays across the pond are as fond of peanuts as the ones we have here! The blue wing patch looks like it is aglow. I agree the blacks are too dark though...perhaps they are recoverable during raw processing...

[vishaljadhav]

Lovely light
I like the pose and the HA, the sharpness is nice and the BG compliments it well
We get these Jays in the North have clicked a few but yet to process any, good to see this reminded me of processing them :)

[keith mitchell]

Holger little nits covered, your Jay fits perfectly into that super Bg,very nice indeed.

Keith.

[Frank Schauf]

Great light an BG.

[Holger Leyrer]

Thank you for all comments.

Fun to hear that jays across the pond are as fond of peanuts as the ones we have here!

Oh yes. For the woodpeckers i made a jam from coconut grease and hackled penatus and smear it on the trunk. They love it.

...perhaps they are recoverable during raw processing...

The raw show the same darkness. If i made it brighter only the noise was stronger

good to see this reminded me of processing them :)

i help where i can

[Jonathan Ashton]

Originally Posted by Daniel Cadieux
...perhaps they are recoverable during raw processing...



The raw show the same darkness. If i made it brighter only the noise was stronger.

Holger, I am not trying to teach you to suck eggs but I think Dan was suggesting that you look at the "blacks" and/ or "shadows" as opposed to brightening the image.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, perch, details and sweet BG colour. Well done Holger.

[Henry Domke]

The raw show the same darkness. If i made it brighter only the noise was stronger

I don't suggest globally brightening the image.
Not sure what software you use for processing your raw file. In Lightroom 5 you might try two things together:
1. Turn down the contrast slider (try minus 25 to start or maybe minus 50)
2. Turn up the shadows slider (try plus 25 to start)

When you brighten the shadows you will increase the noise (as you noticed) but since you were at such a low ISO (400) you should easily be able to fix the noise using the details panel in Lightroom.

If you aren't using Lightroom I'm sure the software you have can do the same adjustments.

[Holger Leyrer]

If you aren't using Lightroom I'm sure the software you have can do the same adjustments.

Thank you for help.
I use Photoshop CS5, ACR and NIK-Tools. But i am not good to work with this programs
I have try what you write. It looks better but there are only little Details in the black area.

[Henry Domke]

I use Photoshop CS5, ACR

The controls are essentially identical to what I suggested for Lightroom. Perhaps there really is no information in the very dark parts of your image, but you might be surprised what you can find when using raw files.

Good luck!

[catalani giovanni]

nice meeting

[Greg Oakley]

Beautiful image Holger - perfect light, detail, IQ

[arash_hazeghi]

beautiful light and nice BG Holger! nice colors and details. if you bring down the contrast and raise the shadows slightly you shouldn't have any issues with noise.

[David Salem]

All has been said! Nice capture with great light at your back. Well done