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Thread: "Hi There!" Loon Wing Flap

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Default "Hi There!" Loon Wing Flap

    This accommodating Common Loon provided a lovely wing flap for us late Summer, northern Michigan. Photo'd from the floor of our boat. Prior to this, he was just kind of floating around the boat, checking us out. Most often, when they do a Wing Flap, they will first turn away about 45 degrees (checking for an escape route should one be necessary). When feeling "comfy" (which is rare), they may show ya "all their stuff"! One shot of an AI Servo Series. Used Diane's tutorials to tame the whites/highlights/shadows/blacks... Also used Diane's tutorial on adding canvas (since he needed some head-room)... adapted to PSE11.
    Canon 60D, 400mm DO, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO800.
    Made a few blue/cyan "levels" corrections to the water, which was really dark initially. Minor noise reduction, sharpening.
    Looking forward to return of these beautiful birds this Spring.Name:  IMG_3171.jpg1200.jpg
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    BPN Member Julie Brown's Avatar
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    Hi Sandy,

    I really like the head position, it is very compelling. Nice eye contact and feather detail. The bird looks beautiful against the blue water background. Capturing a pose like this is the result of knowing their behavior, which you clearly do.
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    Just now had time to look at this, but only on my laptop. (On the road, shooting birds, for the weekend.)

    I love this! The subdued color palette is very engaging, and the eye really stands out. The color and texture of the water looks very ice-like. Great work on the whites!!

    I saw a number of duck and goose wing flaps yesterday and think I missed every one, even with the quick response of handholding the new 7D3 and 100-400 II -- they were very brief.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thank you Julie and Diane! Appreciate your comments! Catching the wing flap can be tough... even in AI Servo. Best thing to watch for is that they will often "dip down" (being heavy boned), then "power up" to the flap. Will give you all of about 2-3 seconds to photo. Question for you both... are the OOF wings a problem? I had been shooting on 6.3 judging distance of a floating bird, so when he went up I think I lost that DOF....Since it doesn't look like too slow of shutter speed.... or ???

    Hey, Julie... should you come north to the TC area this Spring or Summer, let me know!
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    Sandy:

    Very nice pose, and as you mentioned, not common compared to the back view. Good to have the bill separated from the wing too. Nice details in the whites.

    I think the whites could go a few points brighter.

    It might be interesting to see an unprocessed jpeg, to see where you came from with this one!

    Yes, I am awaiting their return as well.

    Hopefully a better year for chicks!

    Cheers

    Randy
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    Sandy, the OOF wings don't bother me since my eye locks on the to middle of the bird-going from head to breast and back to the head. The wings are in a different plane, so I think your SS was fast enough, but my experience with this type of action is limited. I have been contemplating a summer trip to Michigan for sometime, and will definitely get in touch with you if it becomes a reality. The earliest I could get up there would be mid-June. Is that a good time for photographing loons?
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    Wings look fine to me -- I wouldn't expect to be able to get them in the plane of focus at any reasonable aperture. But the DOF on the water looks like it might encomapass the entire subject. They are only slightly out, and maybe it's some motion blur added in -- no matter which, it all works for me.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thanks Randy! Glad you stopped by and commented! Did have a bit of an issue with any brighter whites... tended to make some obnoxious "hot" areas. Would be happy to post the jpg conversion of the Raw (might do it a bit smaller since I loved the pose, and only saw some potential in the image) ... will do that in the next day or so, thanks for asking.... I too am hoping for a chick this year... lake levels here are still rising, minimizing potential nesting areas. Will let ya know when they first arrive here tho!

    Julie... thanks again! Would be great to meet you. In mid-June, we for sure have Loons... hard to predict if they will be nesting (not a good time to photograph them) or if there might already be a baby on board. Keep in touch and I'll let ya know how it's going.

    Diane, (and Julie too!) appreciate your input on my "wings" concern. I was pretty ok with them since the "main parts" were pretty good!
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    Well, since no one else seems to want to comment, ... I'll not be posting the original.... likely an exercise in futility. At this point, I am rather sorry now that I just paid $40.00.
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    Sandy, it's not easy to get people to comment here. Glad you stirred the pot! I need to start keeping track of who does and does not, and letting them know that if they want feedback they need to make MEANINGFUL comments on 3-5 other images. I think the people in ETL are newer and not sure of their ability to critique, but that's how we learn -- sort of like getting in the water in order to learn to swim. Watching from the shore won't do it.

    I'd love to see the original -- it could give an idea how much you were able to salvage. I think what might be even more meaningful is to also post a screenshot of your adjustments.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thanks Diane! Would it be ok if I emailed it to you? The only reason I kept it was because it seemed to have potential (the Raw exposure was really odd). Likely due to change in lighting and position from when I was shooting the Loon just "lazing" around. I don't know how to post a screenshot, but hope you might be able to help?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sandy Witvoet View Post
    Well, since no one else seems to want to comment, ... I'll not be posting the original.... likely an exercise in futility. At this point, I am rather sorry now that I just paid $40.00.
    I know I've had to take a break for family during the holidays, but this is lovely. I think some work on the eye itself could make it even more engaging. Blacks on the neck lack detail, but difficult with the subject to handle both the blacks and whites. Love the tones and texture in the water around the loon.

    The only part of the OOF wings that bother me is because of the angle to the subject, the closer wing has the parts near the body in focus and gradually the DOF adds softness where the farther wing all of it is soft.

    Might consider lightening some of the water in the background.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thanks Jon! Really appreciate your comments. What would you recommend to do with the eye? The only thing I can see is that a bit of the nictating membrane is visible?
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    When I'm at home, I'll take a shot at working on the jpeg. I like to work on the eyes during RAW conversion in LR. I'll change the zoom to 8:1 or 11:1, get centered on the eye and use the adjustment brush to select just the iris. A combination of saturation, clarity, and raising exposure or combinations of highlights/shadows/contrast sliders. All in very small amounts. You can also adjust the color slightly using the same brush (see below). Sometimes I'll add another brush for darkening the pupil if needed. Set the zoom back to 1:1, and then use the on/off switch in the brush control panel to make sure the change isn't overdone.

    Using the brush in LR for color adjustments has a little trick that I found very useful in the past. Click on the color icon in the adjustment brush control panel, when the color picker displays, left-click and hold the button down in the picker. With the button held down, move the mouse pointer into your image, it will show in the picker what color your mouse is hovering over. You can then adjust the color slightly and paint over whichever area you want to adjust.

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    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Here's a quick touch up of the eye.

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    That's a great shot! I also like the water droplets off the tip of the wing. I like the treatment Jon did on the eye, it really catches your attention.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thanks Jon! Yes, the eye does pop a bit more. Appreciate you taking the time to make the adjustments.

    Thank you Warren for your comments... MUCH appreciated!
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