Two Is Better Thank One

[Jack Dean III]

This is a picture I took a couple of years ago while visiting California. Taken at La Jolla Cove, hand held, Canon 7d, EF 400mm f/5.6 lens, f/7.1, 1/640 sec., ISO 125. This is cropped a bit and all of the processing was done in Lightroom.

[Diane Miller]

Nice, with a good low angle! They both sort of look like they wish you'd go away...

Tonalities look good. I'm always trying to increase detail in lights and darks, and you may have a bit more leeway here to do that, but that's a matter of taste. Framing would be more effective if the camera had been aimed a little more to the right, but maybe there was an obstruction there. With this composition you have a lot of mass in the right half and almost none in the left half. It's usually more interesting to the viewer to move a subject off-center, but if it's too far off there needs to be some balancing element on the other side of the fame. This one may be more pleasing with a square (or squarish) crop.

I would use the Spot Removal tool to remove the white object under the tail and the dark object on the left edge of the frame.

[Jack Dean III]

Thanks Diane. I will work this up differently when I get home and repost in tomorrow. I have a few shots of this sequence maybe a different pose would be more appealing. I have always considered myself to be more of an explorer/observer than a photographer, but that why I am here. I need to learn what is more appealing to the majority of people.

[Glennie Passier]

Hey Jack! I really like this. I can't really add more to what Diane has said. However, if it were mine, I would have a look at a little more brightness without blowing the whites...and certainly I would do some eye doctoring work if that's fits in with your ethics. I believe you need to learn what appeals to yourself before the majority. That's funny coming from me. I wouldn't be here either if I thought my images appealed to the majority.

[Jim Keener]

How did you get them to do this? And keep the pose? Congratulations, Jack. This is fun. Have you played with the color? In addition to the bit of blue I see in the water, there's the red at the end of the beak, the egg yolk yellow of the beak, the pink? around the eye, and the watermelon of the legs. It might be fun to increase the saturation a bit there. Of course with this image, it seems that it could quickly approach the too much level. A unique photograph.

[Jack Dean III]

Thanks Glennie. I did bring up the whites in this one and I checked into the adding some catch light. It just ending up looking unnatural to me.
Jim I was just waling down the beach when I saw these two birds interacting and I was pretty sure there would be a good photo opportunity so I decided to invest some time and keep them in my view finder. I ended up with about five usable shots from this sequence. As far as adding saturation to the image I try to keep my wildlife photos the natural colors the best that I can to portray how they look in real life. My landscapes I will exaggerate a bit though. I ended up choosing this pose because I feel that it evokes more feeling and I did brush in some sharpness, contrast, and clarity to the birds.

[Jim Keener]

Hey, Jack, you're correct of course about the saturation levels. And I like that you differentiate between subject matter. I wonder what this action indicates: mating, territorial dominance, play?

[Jack Dean III]

I am going to say mating. This was taken in March and we all know spring is the path to new beginnings. LOL.

[Diane Miller]

I love the action in the second one, along with the crop and tonalities. Good sharpness and detail -- you found a good opportunity and worked it well.

Always best to start a new thread for a new image, though.

[Glennie Passier]

I loved your OP but I really love your second post. Details are good and sharp where it needs to be. If it were mine, I would most likely have a look at cleaning up some of the darker "spots" on the RHS.

[Frank McKernan]

The second pic is spot on to my eye. Love it just the way it is.
Cheers Frank.