I Was Looking for Eagles
San Jacinto Wildlife Area
I had been looking for eagles along a back road where a ranger said eagles had been spotted. Then I saw a large raptor on a pole and leaning out my car window took the shot.
Canon 1DX
500/4 with 2X TC
1/2000 f/8. ISO 320.
My big concern is the background and its lack of anything interesting.
Eager for comments and critiques.
Thanks.
Jim...the background is fine for me. The subject alone is strong enough
to stand on its own.
One of the things I play around with in Photoshop is the color balance. By
playing around with the three sliders not only can I lighten and darken
a background, but change it to a whole new color. Kind of cool to see what
I can come up with.
Doug
Thank you for the input Doug. I decided to start over. New image and more processing of the background in Photoshop. What is the next best thing to do?
A very nice capture - sky is a natural BG for many shots. No problem there.
I like the color balance and contrast in the RP, but the powers that be here ask that people start a new thread for a different image. Fine to post a rework of the same image in the same thread.
Are you shooting raw? How are you processing (both there and in PS)? That's the place to start. Don't neglect White Balance in raw conversion, then you can tweak with Color Balance in PS. If you use LR/ACR you have huge control of color channels, starting with the profiles in the Camera Calibration tab. But PS gives more control of color balance in highlights and shadows, with a LOT of overlap.
I apologize for posting images of two birds in this thread.
I am shooting raw and processing in LR. But didn't think about white balance. I have a lot more to learn about all of photography, but especially post processing. I'm going to ask for something simple: what's the next best thing to do here? Thanks.
Actually, it was probably the same bird...I've been chasing osprey lately, too.
I'm sure others can provide thoughts here, too. The first image -- maybe a little soft, but as you said, maybe from exporting. White Balance is easy to overlook -- hidden in plain sight! The second looks great to me. I always watch the histogram for the whites and blacks -- the rest usually takes care of itself. Your tonalities look good here -- there is a Sticky at the top of this thread about the leeway you have for whites, but I don't see any issues in this post. The next thing I'd try is to see if you might pull out anything in Nik's Detail Extractor (in Color Efex Pro), but I don't see a big need for it. And its easy to overdo it.
I think LR offers wonderful raw processing, but don't overlook the Camera Calibration tab if color issues arise -- often as over-saturated reds or yellows. Just try different profiles -- no need to mess with the sliders, which can get very heavy-handed. It's REALLY hidden, down at the bottom in LR. The default Adobe standard isn't always the best.
Getting the best sharpening on export can make a big difference -- something I've learned here! No magic formula for it, though. Sharpness in the original capture is the magic ingredient. As is soft light, which it looks like you had here.
Look forward to the evolution of this image, or new posts!
Don't know what version you have but
I changed white balance using the eyedropper on a feather. And used the Camera Landscape color calibration. Then went to the Detail Extractor. I like the results. A lot. I'm not sure about sharpening in export. I have the check box checked. Well, this is the result. My concern is the halo along the bird's left wing that appeared in Detail Extractor.
Jim
Interesting head angle on this "fish eagle". Looks like you got close enough for this one.
I'm not real fond of images with the tail -- real or virtual -- cropped off. So the first one is better for that reason. Always better to keep the "virtual tail" (or virtual feet for those birds that may have the feet obscured by grass, mound of dirt, etc).
The second and third images have the nictitating membrane half way across the eye. Do you have another image without this?
Hi, Don. Thank you for the feedback. I'm having a rich learning experience with this thread. What is a virtual tail? I did crop the tail and now realize that was a bad decision. It's one of those things that was in the back of my mind that I didn't pay attention to. I wondered about the nictitating membrane, thinking it might be a good thing to capture. As you can tell, I'm still learning the agreed-upon aesthetics of bird images. I think it's likely I have an image without it. But. After a series of shots at 500mm, I put on the 2X TC and the images made with that are, of course, better because of the longer telephoto effect. I'll be back.
Thanks again for the input.
Don, I do have an image of the bird without the nictitating membrane, and I cropped to include the tail. Now I remember why I had cut it off before. With more of the pole showing, it competed with the bird. Made the bottom part of the image heavier. But I do see a compelling reason to include the tail.Originally Posted by Don Nelson
I think that after what Diane wrote that I shouldn't post another image of the bird in this thread and don't now if I should start another.
Nice pic & quite an improvement in your last pic, Jim! I'd lower the exposure just a tad to reduce some noise that krept in on the darker feathers during PP. It should also produce a little more definition in your lighter feathers and make the sky a little more blue.
You said, "I'm not sure about sharpening in export. I have the check box checked." I don't have time to read back -- what are you using to export and what box is checked? You generally have choices about what sharpening algorithm to use. A resize on export needs some subtle sharpening to compensate for interpolation. Can be hard t get it perfect. Sometimes people sharpen the resulting JPEG and save it again. I'd rather do it in one step if I can, but whatever works best works best.
Would love to see more of the same subject -- new threads with different shots from the same "shoot" are quite OK!
A virtual tail (or feet) are where they would be if you could see them. If they are hidden by some FG object, it often works best to leave the room they would need if they were there.
But like all rules, it isn't 100%.
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