As we cruised down the Zambezi River on our way back to Kasane ( Botswana ), we noticed this large bird perched on the grassy bank of the Namibian side of the river...
The water level was very low, giving us an ideal shooting position below the top of the bank, leaving only clear sky as a background.
Getting closer, we identified it as a juvenile African Fish Eagle and I sprinted to the front of the boat to be free from the boat's sun canopy..
By the time I was crouched on the very nose of the boat, I only had time to hand-hold, focus and let rip...
I was very pleased that I managed to grab a number of frames as he took off and flew into the early morning sky, still with a small bit of dry grass hooked into his left talon....
good story. Like the banking pose with nice ventral view,flared primaries and grass.
From a comp standpoint, I would move him out of the corner just a bit, seems crowded, and if a bit more canvas needed to do so, easy fix here. Perhaps a bit more sharpening on the head.
There are a number of small dust spots, (below the D in your name, and along the left side, low.
The vignetting is pretty pronounced. Was this added in post?
Great to meet you.... I have to say that all the moderators have been very kind and patient with me and it is truly appreciated.
Thank you for the constructive input... Acknolwedged and well noted Sir! Thank you, I really do need all the help I can get.
I have to admit that I never noticed the dirt spots, but I can see very feint "things" and will be sure to clone them out if I ever do anything with this image....I have looked at the other frames in that sequence and can't see anything in a regular pattern, but my 1DX body is due for a good clean, so thanks for the heads up..
Yes, I can easily move the suject around more and take your point.... Thank you.
This vignetting was put in by me and can also be easily backed off or dropped altogether..
I have read numerous other comments in various threads, about being able to sharpen parts of an image and am embarrassed to say that while I understand that it can be done, I don't know how to got about working on independent portions of an image. I simply do some making sharpening with the "Detail" tool as my last stage before exporting...
I use Light Room 5.7, and if anyone could direct me to any tutorials or eBook publications etc which can explain how to do all that, I would be eternally gratefull please...
Thank you again for taking your time to guide me. Much appreciated.
I like the pose but I think the bird is a little large in the frame, exposure is good. Is this a large crop, I am not getting a great deal of detail in the plumage given the size of the subject.(??)
Hi Tim,
In LR you can use the adjustment brush to select just the bird or head or whatever. You brush the area ( there is a tick box on left corner at bottom of image that allows you to see the colored overlay if you want) while zoomed in to get an accurate selection then move the sharpness slider to taste.
In the Export tab where you change your image from TIFF to jpg, select the box that says sharpen for screen and select the highest amount.
In bird photography it is rare that one wants to sharpen the BG as most of us prefer a soft blurred non distracting BG.
I would suggest avoiding vignetting of any kind for avian photography.
Another rule of thumb that I use is that I rarely post an image on BPN if it is cropped by more than 30%. I feel the image just loses too much of the lovely detail in the bird.
In this image, the feather detail is lacking because of the crop and perhaps user error in that the image may have been sharp but not "tack sharp". As you improve you will learn to accept nothing but tack sharp and throw those images in the recycle bin- even when it kills you to do so!! I know the pain of this!!
Hope this helps and that for the offer in your previuos post,
Gail
Thank you and for taking the time out to point me in the right direction...
You have most elegantly and succinctly smacked the nail truly on the head!
While it may be frustrating for me, I now know where I should be tensioning up and my weaknesses which I should address... For these I thank you most sincerely.
I have just downloaded some excellent eBooks from Artie Morris and Arash Hazeghi, and will study them a minute detail, reconfigure my toys and ensure that my entire approach has been kicked up a number of notches...
We are indeed fortunate that we do get lots of opportunity to get out into the sub-Sahara African wilderness areas, and between now and our next sojourn into the bush, I am determined to aspire to emulating the same levels of excellence which I have seen on your website and those of the other " machine" 'Togs who have taken time out to offer me their very kind help and guidance.
I am indeed thankful for having found this site and for the value which I have derived from all the kind folks who took time out to offer their advice so generously.
I do what I do for the complete enjoyment and ask no reward, apart from just having fun, meeting new and interesting people and learning from them....
I am just a guy who has probably been there, done that and got many scars from years of travelling around the sub-Saharan African bush....
To you, Steve Kaluski, Rachel Hollander, and all the others who have kinly helped me ( *If I have not mentioned all of you individually, please forgive me but the space is limited) .....If I can ever repay all the kindness offered to me, by sharing my knowledge of some really cool ( Possibly little known ) photographic hotspots, local seasonal and geographical conditions, sub-Sahara African logistics, and over-all assistance in the preparation ( eg: What kit to take, clothing, conditions to expect and plan for etc ) for your safaris, it would be my great pleasure to try and offer some constructive input and possible ideas.
Thank you again for your kindness and time to share your knowledge with me.... It has been sincerely apprecaited.
Juvenile African Fish Eagle
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I know the pain of this!!
