Results 1 to 12 of 12

Thread: Mink

  1. #1
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Grass Valley, CA
    Posts
    287
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default Mink

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    My first post in wildlife, usually in eager to learn birds. Watched a pair of mink feed at Klamath Lake last week. Canon 7d w/ 100-400 L lens and monopod in my boat. ISO 640, f/8, 1/1000, 400 mm. 50% crop and slight adjustments in Elements 12 of this RAW image. Welcome all comments

  2. #2
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    14,320
    Threads
    929
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Willie - Welcome to the Wildlife Forum! You've posted an image of a species we certainly haven't seen very often. Shooting from the boat also put you at eye level so a nice pov. Looks like the light was somewhat harsh and that you could tame the highlights or more either in the conversion or with a luminosity mask. I do think the large crop has hurt the IQ a bit. I also wonder if there was an alternate crop that would have allowed you to move the mink out of the center of the frame. Perhaps post the full frame image and we can give you some alternate ideas. Btw you can post images that are 1200px wide if landscape format or 900px high if portrait format.

    Thanks for commenting on other images. It's the best way to learn and to get the most out of BPN. Also, the Eager to Learn Forum is not just for avian images. You can post images there that you want a little more help with that are appropriate for any of the various BPN forums such as Wildlife, Macro, Landscapes, OOTB or Avian. I'm not saying that you should have posted this image there, just wanted to clear up that ETL is not just for bird images.

    TFS,
    Rachel

  3. #3
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Nacka, Stockholm, Sweden
    Posts
    433
    Threads
    43
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Willie

    Good that you post, and it is nice to see a picture of a mink. I saw one outside our house a few days ago, but it slipped away as usual very fast.
    Techwise I agree with Rachel.

    TFS, Gregor

  4. #4
    Forum Participant edwardselfe's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    South Luangwa, Zambia
    Posts
    701
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Agree with the above. I think that this could be a really nice image without having to crop in so much and then the IQ would be better. Look forward to seeing the original.
    Ed

  5. #5
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Grass Valley, CA
    Posts
    287
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Thanks all for comments. But I am having a problem with sizing, I am missing something about resizing. I am using Preview on my iMac for resizing, I had to reduce width to 900 pixels wide to get the size accepted( Preview on iMac said it 375 kb at 1100 wide but uploader would not accept) . Is there something I don't understand, or is this typical? any suggestions for reading? I am posting an original image with slightly different pose of the same animal with better catch light in the eye and head angle, I think. I will post in ETL in the future, as I have a lot to learn. (thought it was for birds only)

  6. #6
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Grass Valley, CA
    Posts
    287
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I have resolved the problems of resizing with Apple support. Just to test I am reposting a slight crop of the above image for comments and suggestions....thanks

  7. #7
    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    14,320
    Threads
    929
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Willie - I'm glad you resolved the posting issues. I'm not an Apple person so could offer no help there. I think the comp and the IQ of your most recent post is much better than the op. You can still tame the highlights a bit more. It would be best to do so in the RAW converter but then you can also do so with a luminosity mask.

    You can Google "Tony Kupyer luminosity mask" to get some tutorials but here's a simple version of instructions.

    In PS click on the "Channels" palette.

    Once the Channels are showing click on the top RGB Channel (which is actually all 3) while also pressing the "Ctrl" key. This will select the highlights.

    Make a duplicate layer and then in the "Layers" palette make a mask of the selected highlights.

    Still in the layers palette, go to the drop down menu which should say "normal." Select "multiply" in the drop down menu and then adjust the opacity of the layer to taste.

    For future reference, you can also invert the selection and use "screen" in the drop down menu to lighten darker areas. To confuse you more, you can also use separate luminosity masks with any of the individual channels R,G, or B. Start slowly by using the instructions above to tame the highlights on this image.

    I would also apply another round of selective sharpening to the head.

    TFS,
    Rachel

  8. #8
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Grass Valley, CA
    Posts
    287
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    thanks so much for your constructive comments, Rachel. I have learned so much already from this board and I am now just dipping into just what you described.

  9. Thanks Rachel Hollander thanked for this post
  10. #9
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    7,738
    Threads
    455
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Welcome to BPN Wildlife, Willie

    Sorry to come in so late, I looked and marvelled at this cute little Mink earlier but had no chance to reply since I was at work. Not sure how far you were from your subject but maybe F8 was too much, I would have gone for, say F5.6. This might have also helped to "soften" the grass in the BG, which I find rather overwhelming. Good advice from Rachel and I would really like a tad more sharpening on the subject's face, well done on capturing this and thank you for posting, looking forward to more from you,

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

  11. #10
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Grass Valley, CA
    Posts
    287
    Threads
    26
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Gabriela, good suggestion on the f 5.6. I need to remember to change camera settings while shooting a subject to get different looks of the image. Of course, I was so excited to just see the mink I will accept what I have and enjoy the habitat it was in. thanks for your input and will work on learning more photoshop skills

  12. #11
    BPN Member Morkel Erasmus's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    14,858
    Threads
    1,235
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Another warm welcome here, Willie.
    You've received some good pointers here. I prefer the pose of your original post, and the mink in your 2nd post seems quite softer in terms of focus accuracy.
    I agree that f5.6 would have helped separate the subject more, though it is not the best aperture for sharpness with those lenses.
    The high contrast grassy background also doesn't help to make the subject pop - but not much you can do about that.
    Morkel Erasmus

    WEBSITE


  13. Thanks WillieHall thanked for this post
  14. #12
    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    7,738
    Threads
    455
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Keep experimenting, Willie! And hope to see more from you on BPN Wildlife!!!

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics