Greetings. Long ago when I was in high school I shot a little film. I loved that really noisy look you could get from pushing Tri-X. The cost of it all put me off photography for 30 years (it's so much cheaper now , er, not!).
Monochrome via Silver Efex Pro, some curves and cloning, added gaussian noise masking some off the subject, bright orange fill layer merged with soft light medium opacity, some additional toning around the eye.
By the way, I took this photo of a Snowy Plover at Morro Bay last weekend. I last photographed a solitary Snowy four years ago in the tidal zone near a preserve area as they are considered threatened on the endangered species list. So, four years later there are a couple of dozen of these cuties running around the same place (about half of them banded). The protection seems to be working. Yay!
Cute! I love that you caught the Plover running. Nice. The bg is blurred enough to allow the bird to stand out. It looks a little flat to me; what about increasing contrast a bit?
Well done on the grainy effect. It's a bit unconventional having the bird run out of the frame like this. I probably would prefer a version with more space in front of the plover instead of behind it. However those sand grains kicked up by the running plover are fabulous! Nice composition with the horizontal layering effect of the foreground sand, the line of seaweed stuff, and the distant beach, plus the horizontal run of the plover and the pano crop! Cross your fingers on the success of the Snowy Plover.
I'd probably have cropped just a little from the top, but I like this for many reasons. The aspect ratio fits nicely with the action of the subject. The depth of field gives a nice feeling of depth and helps the plover stand out from the background. The angled lines in the foreground add a lot of interest, which is increased because of the luminance contrast, there. I agree with Nancy about the sand kicked up by the bird. It's a great element. I don't mind there not being more room in front of the plover. In fact, I think it adds more energy, and that's consistent with what's happening.
Thanks much for your comments. They are much appreciated. The subject is backlit in fairly strong morning light, which is why the sand shows up as it does. I softened the contrast, Anita, to bring out the feather detail and lightened the eye. Contrast is a tricky balance here.
Snowy Plovers are one of my favorite birds. They run here and there and when they see you sitting or kneeling there, they run around you rather than away seemingly keeping eye contact the whole way. I was pleased to see their population increased quite a bit at this site in Morro Bay.
Simply capturing this fellow backlit is OOTB for most bird photographers. The highlight of backlighting are the bright plumes of sand and the increased contrast of the fg mini sand dunes. I'd prefer the plover running into the frame ( not a deal breaker ) The PP works.
Theme: Vintage Noise
, er, not!).
