Had Enough

[Andre Pretorius]

Immature Bateleur leaving Cubitje Quap aftert drinking.
Techs:
Nikon D3S with old 600f4
1/2000th with f6,3 (bought new 500f4 since...)
ISO 450
Manual with Auto ISO ( have since settled on full values, not 1/3..)
+0,3 EV (ETTR)

Have looked at winning images recently, noted that some Photographers shoot with -EV-noted if water/ice in BG/FG
I understand; not to blow highlights. But the majority of images had no potential hot whites in image- is it to increase
S/S?
You forfeit detail in darks tough?

Forgot to convert to s-RGB?- sorry!!

[dankearl]

This has so much going for it, a great pose, interesting focus and energy.
Not sure about the BG?

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Dark bird against bright BG, not ideal, but you did OK André.
Light direction was not favourable though coming from the right.
With the limited dynamic range of DSLRs I'd always choose to expose for the bird, even if it means blowing the highlights in the BG. The focus is the bird, not the BG. Getting both is good, but not always possible.
Gentler lighting would also help, this harsh sun is not ideal. But I guess you guys get more harsh sun than anywhere else in the world.

I do love the pose, topside view and detail regardless of the harshness overall. I like the way the little bush to the left balances the comp.

Thanks for sharing mate!

[Daniel Cadieux]

I really like the pose and the trailing talons. I also like the two oof tress giving some context into the BG. Not super crazy about the very bright area below and I do find the subject bit high in the frame...for those reasons I'd likely crop 30-40% of the space below. Light angle was not best either but you did best you could with that.

Akos has summed up the reasoning in exposure: main subject first and worry about the rest secondarily.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Andre, you are really blessed to travel to the Kgalagadi, as there are so many opportunities for wildlife and Raptors. ( never been there yet ) I quite like this flight pose, sharp where it counts, and I do like the smooth OOF BG. Ive posted a repost with a slight multply blending mode, and then lightened the eye again. Ive also cropped up from the bottom and RHS.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Andre - Great pose and Stu's rp strengthens the image IMHO. I too expose for subject.

TFS,
Rachel

[Karl Egressy]

Nice image, Stu's repost took care of the problems.

[Andre Pretorius]

Thank you Dan, Akos and Daniel for commenting. All your suggestion are noted and it is being processed....

Thank you for the RP Stu, the comp does look better now. I have used different blending modes in 3 Curve adj layers, selectively applied to certain areas.
The problem was the very light feathers pushed the histogram to the limit. There I applied a selective masked curve layer with Multiply @ lower opacity.
Different masked layers with various Blending modes was applied to targeted areas of the Bateleur. Level layer to BG.
D&B layer as per taste.
How did you lighten the eye?
The Kalahari light is Very harsh, and the big Raptors come down to drink and bath @ lunch time-- one must choose-- Bird with harsh light, or sweet light with no Bird
I have attached the image as captured.
Use LR for grey point & Basic, colour correction, input sharpening and rough crop.
Export to CS6 for selective tweaks.

[Stu Bowie]

How did you lighten the eye?

My pleasure with the RP. With regards to the eye, I just used the dodge tool with a small brush to just cover the circumference of the eye to lighten it.

[Andre Pretorius]

Thank you Rachel and Karl for comments!