King Eider take-off

[gail bisson]

I haven't pressed the shutter on my camera since November 12.
Life and work, bad weather,the flu and Xmas have all taken precedence so I am going through old files to see if I have anything good I may have missed.
Image taken in Barrow, Alaska at midnight June 2014.
I processed this file using DPP4 (pane1) and LR5 (Pane 2) and I must say the difference between the 2 is quite dramatic. The highlight and shadow tools appear to be much better in DPP4 than in LR and the color saturation is definitely richer.
Canon 1DX
600mm and 1.4x
ISO 800 F 7.1 SS 1/2500
PP: Converted RAW in DPP4 (as per Arash's guide) ie reduced highlights to -1, increased shadows to +2,did not touch saturation slider,did not touch brightness slider,NR to chrominance and luminance as per the guide then off to LR for cataloging then into CS5 to clone out a few stray grasses,levels , DE at 3% then USM to JPEG. I processed the files identically in CS5 except for the cloning.
Small crop of 15% so 85% FF
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[gail bisson]

And here is the image with LR5

[Ashley Cohen]

Interesting comparison. Must start by saying a fantastic image captured. I think some of the differences come down to image profile and the adobe image being slightly brighter over all but not my much. thats just to my eye anyway. Try changing your camera profile in lightroom ( it's on the develop tab) to camera standard or neutral and the highlights might edit better, I know Neutral seems to be better for my 7D MK II. The lightroom image also appears shaper and more to my preference, though sharpening ( adding contrast) can cause highlights to be stronger and shadows to be deeper.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Gail, great capture in good light. Excellent PP and thank you for taking the time doing it both ways. The DDP4 file is much more alive, better colors, more contrast. Did you set your camera for Adobe RGB or sRGB? Similar questions for the working space during PP for both work flows. TFS. Loi

[annmpacheco]

Hi Gail,
Sorry to hear that you've been "benched" for a few months and here's hoping you come back with an "appetite!" Excellent image and excellent example of DPP 4 and LR5. I am trying my best to get better at my RAW processing and I have also invested in Arash's DPP 4.0 guide, etc, ... What I see here is beautiful rich dark , (the belly) in LR5 and more finished detail in the white of the wings... How can we move the "great belly" or the darks over to DPP? What adjustment do you or others recommend in this case? I would love if we could have a DPP processing exercise on the workflow forum if others would partake... Any thoughts? Come back strong and definitely "up your game" as you said earlier!

[arash_hazeghi]

DPP colors are better as expected, for shadow adjustment I'd probably apply +1 or less to get a bit denser blacks.

Comparison at small size could be deceiving as the image has been reduced in size significantly, in order to compare sharpness, noise etc. you must compare 100% crops side by side.


Very beautiful pose, details and light. TFS

[WillieHall]

Nice timing on this interesting bird. Like all the comments on DPP 4, as I am learning to use it with my 7D II. Must be a little cool up there, hope you get out soon.

[Raybel Robles]

Love the pose by the bird on this image. Running on water. Nice image!

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Great shot with great detail Gail! DDP4 definitely looks better in all respects - interesting comparison!

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,like the take off pose,nice detail.

[mohammad reza shahab]

Hi Gail,
Great take off pose,light and detail.

[keith mitchell]

Lovely Duck skipping over the water with flying droplets after the bird, afraid you have lost me with some of the tec stuff but your finished result explains a lot to me, excellent image Gail.

Cheers Keith.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Sorry to read you have been out of action for a while. Striking image, a lot to like. I prefer your processing in Lightroom rather than DPP. The blacks of the belly are richer, also the white underside of the wings. Overall the colors in Lightroom are more subtle and less saturated than DPP appearing more real. Also the detail/sharpening appear better in Lightroom. Thank you for sharing.

[Poorna Kedar]

I love this image :)

[Shawn Zierman]

Awesome light quality, great subject matter photographed beautifully...looks like you were perfectly placed in regards to working distance...kudos to you or Matthew or whoever....this is a beautiful frame...either version is great., splitting hairs at this size imo, as to which is better....

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Gail! I like the IQ, exposure, take off pose, low angle, wing position, layered BG and composition.

[Lyle Gruby]

I don't have much to add besides your's and Grace's images from this location have me so jealous I might sell a kidney so I can go next year!

[gail bisson]

I don't have much to add besides your's and Grace's images from this location have me so jealous I might sell a kidney so I can go next year!

Lyle,
You really only need one kidney you know!!
Ashley,
My camera profile is standard ,in camera with a custom tweak to contrast and sharpness and in lightroom.
Loi,
my camera and desktop color space Adobe RBG

Thanks all for the comments.
FYI -I took the image back into DPP and reduced the amount of shadow from +2 to +1 and the blacks did come back. I also decreased the saturation in the orange by .5( the feet were too orange ) and reduced the overall saturation of the image by .5 as well and the color feels more true to me.
I think a lot of practice comes into play with any new program.

[David Salem]

Been looking at them for a few minutes before I said anything. I have been doing the same, playing with both LR5 and DPP. I will say that after closer inspection there is more feather detail in the LR5 file. Not sure if it is just a difference in sharpening or the initial NR on the bird in DPP. Even though the LR5 file looks sharper to me it also looks just a bit coarser also.
Either way the shot looks great and I like it as much as your last one. The detail, color and the exposure all look right on and the water splash and the long stride really elevate this to one nice action shot. Very well shot Gail. Oh, you are right, it will take some time to figure out how to best use DPP. I am doing the same because I still like allot of the features in LR5:)

[Moe Ali]

I'm going to throw in my vote for DPP. Looks much more natural, even with the extra saturation. And it's a beautifully timed image. Nice work!

[Mike Poole]

Another beauty Gail, it's the trailing water droplets that finish this one off for me