Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM Focal Length 400mm Exposure 1/125 f6.7 ISO 100
Late, windy afternoon in the outback national park, Idalia - Australia
Image has been cropped, sharpened, pesky branches cloned out.
Hello,
My first post. OMG! There is so much amazing photography happening here, I am a little overwhelmed. Things I have noticed on this image is the busyness of the branches in the background. The tree is named "dead finish" and manages to grow in the desert country of Australia. I also note the light/bright branches under the robin. I have tried to clone these out, but mostly it looked worse than when I started.
Thank you Peter. I have posted another image taken just a second after the previous. I've tried the changes as suggested and think the image now is a better. Toned down the background, brightened bird, selectively sharpened and cropped. I think the overall colour of the BG is more like what I remember it to be as well.
Hi Glennie -- welcome to BPN! A nice capture. I agree the second is better, but both have a blue-magenta cast creeping in. Also there may be some lost detail in the yellows. How are you processing?
Were you on a tripod? The shutter speed is on the low side for a sharp image at 400mm, especially with wind. The 5D2 could do OK with a little higher ISO. Critical sharpness really makes a bird image stand out.
I'll see what I can do with the blue-magenta cast. I did notice that. (especially in the first one)
I'm processing with CS6. A bit challenging I must admit. I have just read your "adjustment layers" post and have been practicing. I will also check out the "embed" tutorial.
Not on a tripod. I must admit I got a shock to see this little bird in this very arid country, so techs weren't dialed in before hand. I am surprised I got an image of any sort!
Dianne, I've tried to remove the blue-magenta cast. I think the blue has gone, but magenta remains a little. The yellow feathers lack of detail, i believe, is a lost cause. Maybe because of the sizeable crop and my lack of knowledge.
The tutorial on embed is easy to follow. Thank you! I hope I can do it right for the next one.
The best way to fix the cast is in the raw processing, with the Temp and Tint sliders (I assume you're using Adobe Camera Raw, which is the raw converter that comes with Photoshop). There is an eyedropper (third from the left in the upper left) that you can click on any area to neutralize it, but there will be a lot of variability among different areas that might look similar, due to noise. There are also some White Balance presets for the adjustment (right below the histogram) that may or may not be close. I usually tweak the sliders after finding the best preset. The camera usually makes a good guess (that will be the starting point) but not always.
The best approach is a good, calibrated monitor and some experience. Make it look the way you like!
Thanks again Diane. (Sorry for the misspelling in earlier posts) I have ACR and do a bitt of fiddling before I open the image into PS. I h ave never used the eyedropper (I didn't know what it was for!) When time permits, I'll have another crack at this image. Practice, practice, practice. The more you do the better you get. Words my Dad said to me all the time.