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Publisher
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Hi Arthur
Iam a lover of black BG,s so that starts it off as a winner for me.!Maybe that teeny bit more DOF would have nailed the beak end and white chest markings. You have to make the most of the conditions though.
Striking image anyway.
JohnR
PS
I was offered a job as a tour guide there many years back -I often wonder what if ------?
Last edited by John Robinson; 11-16-2015 at 09:01 AM.
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Publisher
In this exact situation your d-o-f comment is a valid one. But I rarely worry about the sharpness of the bill tips.... a
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Hi Arthur. I like the black on black and the detail you have exrtracted from the black feathers. The red (wattle?) and the eye are lovely and sharp. To my admitedly untrained eye, the white patch looks a little hot. I am surprised by the slightly soft bill and your statement that you rarely worry about sharpness of bill tips.... Why is this?
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Lifetime Member
This is a truly stunning portrait, Artie! Love the black on black and the exp is spot on!
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Only a Dream: Rock Shag Heaven
Hi Arthur, I was telling a friend just Sunday as we were shooting Wigeons in high key, how much I love low key shots. I admire how the black plumage stands apart from the BG in some areas and blends in others.
The slight OOF bill tip stands out to me, due to the contrast to the BG. Was this an HA issue, or was there an OOF object in the foreground that caused it? Noticing very subtle vertical light areas in the background, above and below the affected areas of the bill lead me to ask that.
My other question, Arthur, is what lead to your decision to cut at the neck for the portrait? Was vertical format and including the breast ruled out?
Thanks for sharing this inspiring shot :)
Ross
Last edited by Ross Taylor; 11-17-2015 at 07:22 AM.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
David Cowling
Hi Arthur. I like the black on black and the detail you have extracted from the black feathers. The red (wattle?) and the eye are lovely and sharp. To my admittedly untrained eye, the white patch looks a little hot. I am surprised by the slightly soft bill and your statement that you rarely worry about sharpness of bill tips.... Why is this?
The red is the lores, the skin surrounding and in front of a bird's eyes, most dramatically colored when they are actively breeding. The WHITE patch is nowhere near hot so you need more eye training :) Even in the JPEG which is more contrasty than the master file the highest WHITE RGB values are in the mid-240s, a bit higher than I prefer.
Why not care about the slightly soft bill tip? When I look at an image I look the eye and face first. Here those are razor sharp. With d-o-f extremely limited when working near the MFD I pretty much do not worry about the bill tips. And getting the extra DOF would require at least doubling the ISO and that is not something I would like to do when I know that the BLACKS are already 1 2/3 stops underexposed (to save the white cheek patch).
If that confuses you check out the section on Exposure Theory in the original The Art of Bird Photography here.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Marina Scarr
This is a truly stunning portrait, Artie! Love the black on black and the exp is spot on!
Many thanks Marina. I love it too. I was so excited to get close to these that I made and kept way too many images :) a
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Ross Taylor
Hi Arthur, I was telling a friend just Sunday as we were shooting Wigeons in high key, how much I love low key shots. I admire how the black plumage stands apart from the BG in some areas and blends in others.
The slight OOF bill tip stands out to me, due to the contrast to the BG. Was this an HA issue, or was there an OOF object in the foreground that caused it? Noticing very subtle vertical light areas in the background, above and below the affected areas of the bill lead me to ask that.
My other question, Arthur, is what lead to your decision to cut at the neck for the portrait? Was vertical format and including the breast ruled out?
Thanks for sharing this inspiring shot :)
Ross
Hi Ross, Yes, black can be quite striking. Thanks for your kind words. Funny that you mention learning about HA here :) I invented the term and am the captain of the Head Angle Police. Having this bird with the head turned away would have left me not at all happy with the eye, the face and the lores. See my response to David Cowling as well.
As for the image design, I made some vertical head and neck portraits on the way in. In the presented image, I would not have been able to fit the head into a vertical frame at the distance I was at. if that rather poorly constructed sentence makes sense :) a
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Hi Arthur,
Thank you for your answers. A priority to lower ISO considering the low key tones makes complete sense, even at the cost of DOF for the bill. Being at MFD to such a wonderful find must have been exhilarating :)
I must admit, as I was typing my question about HA, I was wondering to myself "What am I doing asking Arthur about HA in one of his shots?". This considering that I studied and am thankful for your many posts on the finer points of HA.
Cheers,
Ross
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Thanks for the explanation Arthur. I will learn from it.
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Lifetime Member
Hi Artie, excellent exposure here, as the head is separated well enough from the black BG. I do like the splash of red around the eye, and sharp where it counts.
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I like the black on black, sharp eye, red lore and composition. There is a sharp black line just behind the neck in the lower left that I would blend in more. Beautiful image Arthur!
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Loved the thumbnail. On opening up the image I got more impact than expected. Nice work Arthur.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Jim Crosswell
I like the black on black, sharp eye, red lore and composition. There is a sharp black line just behind the neck in the lower left that I would blend in more. Beautiful image Arthur!
Thanks Jim. I am not seeing the sharp black line even when I tilt the screen.... But I did do some darkening work on the BKGR so I will take a close look at the TIFF. a
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Ross Taylor
Hi Arthur,
Thank you for your answers. A priority to lower ISO considering the low key tones makes complete sense, even at the cost of DOF for the bill. Being at MFD to such a wonderful find must have been exhilarating :)
I must admit, as I was typing my question about HA, I was wondering to myself "What am I doing asking Arthur about HA in one of his shots?". This considering that I studied and am thankful for your many posts on the finer points of HA.
Cheers,
Ross
:) Have you studied the Head Angle thread in Educational Resources from a few years back? it is a great one. a
ps: never hesitate to question me or anyone else on any topic; it is the best way for all of us to continue to learn.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Super Moderator
Hi Artie, I know you've been busy travelling the world, but we've missed you here!. I really love that black and dark wine background, very cool especially with the dark subject. The detail on the head and face are really wonderful. Perfect comp for me. The line Jim refers too is what appears to be (but may not be) a vertical clone mark near the lower left corner, directly behind the neck.
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Publisher
Originally Posted by
Daniel Cadieux
Hi Artie, I know you've been busy travelling the world, but we've missed you here!
. I really love that black and dark wine background, very cool especially with the dark subject. The detail on the head and face are really wonderful. Perfect comp for me. The line Jim refers too is what appears to be (but may not be) a vertical clone mark near the lower left corner, directly behind the neck.
Thanks Dan, I will take a close look at the optimized image when I come up for air. Just got home on Monday from South Georgia and the Falklands and am on the way to Bosque today (with a bad cold) :) I plan on being here a lot in DEC. Thanks to you and all the MODs for the great job you are all doing. a
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
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Originally Posted by
Arthur Morris
:) Have you studied the Head Angle thread in Educational Resources from a few years back? it is a great one. a
ps: never hesitate to question me or anyone else on any topic; it is the best way for all of us to continue to learn.
Yes indeed Arthur, that HA thread "Head Angle Fine Points" with 2-3 shots per post, some animations, many peoples impressions, your wrap up, and many posts was SUPER! Seems to me that it was a gold mine of practical considerations :) http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...le-Fine-Points
Thanks so much for your generous help and sharing. It is great to see that vibe has flourished in this community of BPN members also :)
All the best - Ross
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