Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Long Billed Curlew in the grass.

  1. #1
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Fort Myers, Florida
    Posts
    401
    Threads
    141
    Thank You Posts

    Default Long Billed Curlew in the grass.

    This from two days ago. Photographers nightmare conditions. High wind, unpredictable light (sun in and out of light-sucking clouds), and really cold for Florida. POV was just high enough to clear the grass and get an angle on the bird. he was, of course, moving around quite a bit in an unpredictable pattern. Anyway, I cranked the ISO and speed a bit, and hoped for the best.

    Canon 1DsMII, Canon 600mm f/4L. f/4, 1/8000, -2/3EV, hand held:

  2. #2
    Fabs Forns
    Guest

    Default

    Hi Bob,

    Very nice habitat image. Some people will object to the OOF leaves covering him. Thw wind in the grass makes for a nice background.

    I'm a bit puzzled by the techs, why would you want s/s of 1/8000, even when hand-holding, unless this is a typo? (I do my share of those lol)

  3. #3
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Fort Myers, Florida
    Posts
    401
    Threads
    141
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    LOL - Not a typo! The sun was behind a really nasty rain cloud when I started the series. I had cranked the ISO to 640, and the went -2/3 EV to try and squeeze a speed of 1/1000th under those conditions. The sun suddenly popped out and I just kept going. Bird was very skittish, so I didn't want to stop and reset for the brief sun condition. I knew someone would mention that ;)

  4. #4
    Fabs Forns
    Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Blanchard View Post
    LOL - Not a typo! The sun was behind a really nasty rain cloud when I started the series. I had cranked the ISO to 640, and the went -2/3 EV to try and squeeze a speed of 1/1000th under those conditions. The sun suddenly popped out and I just kept going. Bird was very skittish, so I didn't want to stop and reset for the brief sun condition. I knew someone would mention that ;)
    Been there, done that :)

  5. #5
    cjhockett
    Guest

    Default

    Any one have a technique for removing the faint out of focus leaves over lying the bird?

  6. #6
    Maxis Gamez
    Guest

    Default

    Hey Bob,

    I know what you mean about the weather, I was out there too!! :). The composition works for me with a nice habitat. The pose is also fantastic but there is nothing that bothers me with the head.... looks like the grass in sharper than the head? I would also run this image with some kind of NR software.

  7. #7
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Fort Myers, Florida
    Posts
    401
    Threads
    141
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I see what you mean Maxis. I have not run any NR or sharpening on this yet. I recall the head being well in focus in the original, but I think a bit of selective sharpining will make it jump out a bit more (at least on par with the grass). I see a few bits of noise in there as well, and can easily deal with those.

    I'll admit that the OOF grass across the body distracts me from the eye as well, so not sure about that. I think it's definitely a keeper, but not the best I can do by any means. I'm proud of it considering the conditions, though. Hard to convey that in the end product, unfortunately :D

    That was one of those days when only the most dedicated (or craziest?) of us were out :D

  8. #8
    Jody Melanson
    Guest

    Default

    In answer to the question of what to do about the OOF grass in front of the bird. Best idea is to reshoot. In the meantime, I cloned the upper grass out. On the neck, I Dodged and Burned. I used the Select Color Tool and selected highlights only, then Select, Modify, Feather and do about 6 pixels at this size, more pixels on a bigger image. CTRL + J to paste this Selection to a new Layer. Change the new Layer's Blend Mode to Multiply to tone down the whites. Flatten. I used Focus Magic to sharpen some more using a Layer Mask. NR on BG only.



    Hope this helps, guys....

  9. #9
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Fort Myers, Florida
    Posts
    401
    Threads
    141
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Nice work Jody! Definitely a significant improvement. I'll put a bit of time into the original this week.

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