Results 1 to 16 of 16

Thread: Northern Pintail: High and Dry

  1. #1
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default Northern Pintail: High and Dry

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I wasn't sure if this could be salvaged, but I liked the pose and decided to play with it. NR on the BG, evicted a Gadwall and some flotsam, brushed the water with a 20% opacity brush to smooth out the distracting ripples; Levels adjustment and Topaz Detail @2% on the duck, USM. Cropped to about 50% of full width. C&C always appreciated. [PS. looking at the preview, I may have oversharpened to the point of a little crunchiness, and might need to go back and redo. What do you think?]

    D7000, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 1000, 1/2500s @ f/6.3 manual. Lowered Gitzo an Mongoose, QuikCamo.

  2. #2
    BPN Member William Dickson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Fife, Scotland
    Posts
    7,883
    Threads
    1,115
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Glad you kept it Bill and for sharing. The pose is nice and I like the POV. I see the sharpness as ok. The only wee niggle I have is the yellow coloured rock, but I like the image

  3. #3
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by William Dickson View Post
    Glad you kept it Bill and for sharing. The pose is nice and I like the POV. I see the sharpness as ok. The only wee niggle I have is the yellow coloured rock, but I like the image
    Thanks William. That's actually some sort of tubular water plant that graces our marshes. Someone on the forum will probably know the name of it. I suppose I might desaturate it a bit.

  4. #4
    Lifetime Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Posts
    3,555
    Threads
    543
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Also glad you kept and salvaged this image, Bill. The preening pose is wonderful. The sharpness looks fine to me. Personally I might like to see a version without what I think is a chunk of Bullhead Water Lily stem in front of perch.




    Geoffrey

  5. #5
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Thanks Geoffrey. I knew someone would know the name of that plant. It's a tricky job to clone it out because of the reflections, but I might give it a try.

  6. #6
    BPN Viewer
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    102
    Threads
    8
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    The pose and detail look great to my eyes. The pintail has always been my most elusive duck, I would be proud of this shot.

    I took the liberty of removing the yellow stem in photoshop to see if it made a difference on the image. I agree with the others, it does look even better without that stem.

  7. #7
    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    10,347
    Threads
    403
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Lovely light, pose and environment, Bill. I would crop some off of the bottom and go for more of a pano look. I think it makes the image quite a bit stronger.
    Marina Scarr
    Florida Master Naturalist
    Website, Facebook

  8. #8
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    El Slavador
    Posts
    586
    Threads
    106
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Strong image, but there is something funky going on with the perch and other elements protruding out of the water. some artifacts that look blue/purple?? ;)

  9. #9
    Super Moderator arash_hazeghi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    San Francisco, California, United States
    Posts
    18,553
    Threads
    1,320
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I love the soft light and the calm water, sharpness looks good to me. the perch looks natural to my eye, but it could be a nicer perch. I might clone out the yellow stuff in the FG

    TFS
    New! Sony Capture One Pro Guide 2022
    https://arihazeghiphotography.com/Gu.../Sony_C1P.html


    ------------------------------------------------
    Visit my blog
    http://www.arihazeghiphotography.com/blog

  10. #10
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    A wonderful shot of my nemesis duck.Lovely light and pose and the PP looks excellent.
    I kind of like the yellow vegetation but am wondering about the purple on top of the rocks?
    I would personally back off a tiny little bit on the sharpening.
    Gail

  11. #11
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Thanks everyone for your comments and helpful suggestions.

    Here's a version without the water lily stem. Looking at the frames just prior to this one, it seems that the stem floated into view just when he did the preening pose. So I could use the prior frames as a guide to cloning out the stem. I think this is a pretty good replication.

    I don't understand the blue on the "rocks" (actually another lily stem and a mud blob, I think). That color shows in the RAW file. But I've desaturated the blue channel in that area to remove the distraction.

    And I've cropped to a 9:16 pano.

    Hope you like it.

  12. #12
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Pune, Maharashtra, India
    Posts
    7,409
    Threads
    469
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Excellent image, Bill Sir.
    Wonderful color pallet. Very nice preening pose with great superfine details. Love the RP without lily and panorama composition.

    Regards,
    Satish.

  13. #13
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Long Island, New York
    Posts
    6,275
    Threads
    574
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Bill, Excellent subject, unique perch and complimentary color in the water. I am suggesting this as an additional composition option. To my eye, all the space on the left as viewed isn't adding anything. My eye travels a circle from the bird's beautifully arched neck, to the perch and back around. So if this was mine, and the crop help up, I would come in much tighter from the left. I wouldn't want to tempt the viewer to explore that left hand side, but want to keep him focused right on the bird. My 2 cents (and the reason behind the suggestion). :)

  14. #14
    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Princeton, NJ
    Posts
    12,487
    Threads
    1,892
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Grace. I agree. The problem of the negative space is exacerbated by the pano crop (and partly for that reason, I actually prefer the OP). This is already a rather large crop: 50% of original width, 25% of original pixel count. So I don't know if the IQ would hold up, but I could give it a try. Having almost half of the frame as a not-too-pleasing empty brown void is not a recipe for a great image. Thanks for looking and for your always-valued opinion.

  15. Thanks Grace Scalzo thanked for this post
  16. #15
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Ladner,B.C.
    Posts
    667
    Threads
    110
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    An artistic pose Bill from a frog's eye vantage point--nice emphasis of the curve of the neck by the white head pinstripe--and I like the golden diamond pattern of the floating seed cone in the foreground. I'm not sure I see over sharpening but w/b interested to see the result of reducing it a bit.

  17. #16
    Lifetime Member David Salem's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    Riverside, CA
    Posts
    6,664
    Threads
    276
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Very nice Bill. One of my favorite ducks in a very artistic pose and setting. I like the original with maybe a bit off of the left. TFS
    Come join me for a Custom Raptor Workshop starting this November 2019- January 2020.
    P.M. me to inquire on dates, pricing and availabilities. Thank You.
    www.davidsalemphotography.com

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