Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: My little Chickadee

  1. #1
    Forum Participant Craig Schriever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    57
    Threads
    10
    Thank You Posts

    Default My little Chickadee

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
     
    Found this little Chickadee running around eating snow. I thought it would be good practice trying to get a good exposure without blowing out the snow or the White band on the bird. I did pull down the highlights a bit in LR and some minor sharpening. It was a bit cold out 10 deg F, so me and the bird made it a quick session. :)

  2. #2
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Posts
    9,587
    Threads
    401
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I cannot even IMAGINE 10 deg below zero. Much respect for getting the image! Just enough detail in the snow, for me, and excellent sharpness in the bird. A nice pose that says shoot this fast 'cause I'm outa here. Good separation of the eye from the dark feathers. I always try to bring out detail in darks, but sometimes I probably go too far.

    My preference would be to clone out some of the grass stalks closest to the edge. A little crop from the left would eliminate some there. The bird looks like it is on the move -- did you get any other frames a split second later? Maybe that had better separation from the grass sprigs and the tail? (Could be fixed, though.)

    I'd think about moving the watermark to the right hand corner after cleaning up a couple of grass pieces there.

  3. Thanks Craig Schriever thanked for this post
  4. #3
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    1,066
    Threads
    121
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    This little guy does look cold. How does something that tiny maintain their body heat and not freeze?

    Snow handled well. Agree with Diane about the grasses near the edge of the frame. Nice colour and feather detail.

    Diane - How important are watermarks on a forum such as this?

  5. Thanks Craig Schriever thanked for this post
  6. #4
    Forum Participant Craig Schriever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    57
    Threads
    10
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Thanks Diane. I mowed the grass so to speak. :) The next frame he was gone, too cold to sit in one spot for so long and these little birds are on the move constantly even in warmer weather.


    Thanks Glennie. Yeah it is quite amazing how they survive in such cold temps. I guess if they keep moving and find enough food to fuel the furnace, they can make it.

  7. #5
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Posts
    9,587
    Threads
    401
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Perfect! What a little cutie!

    Glennie, people are 50-50 about watermarks with lots of strong opinions. Most can be easily removed from a stolen image. Some people place them right on top of the subject, in a light gray, but then they trash the image.

    Some people use them tor advertising, in a place that doesn't spoil the image.

    I just include copyright information in the metadata and let it go at that.
    Last edited by Diane Miller; 02-14-2016 at 03:35 PM.

  8. #6
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    1,066
    Threads
    121
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Well done Craig, although I think I may have left a couple of sprigs of grass. There maybe some signs of cloning under the tail and to the left of the tail. Maybe a softer brush?

    Thank you Diane - I have included it the metadata...although I might be quietly chuffed if somebody wanted to steal an image of mine!

  9. Thanks Craig Schriever thanked for this post
  10. #7
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Posts
    9,587
    Threads
    401
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    So would I, although most of them probably wouldn't make it past being badly printed on plain paper and attached to a refrigerator door. Power to the people!

  11. Thanks Craig Schriever thanked for this post
  12. #8
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    136
    Threads
    22
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Great capture Craig.

  13. Thanks Craig Schriever thanked for this post
  14. #9
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Santa Rosa, CA
    Posts
    9,587
    Threads
    401
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Good catch Glennie. A softer brush is good, or if room is crowded, a pass or two with a 50% or so transparent brush will work well. But it will smooth out noise which can look artificial if the underlying frame has some noise.

  15. #10
    Forum Participant Craig Schriever's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    57
    Threads
    10
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Thanks everyone for your helpful insights and critiques. I think I'm going to stick with this final image. I like a little bit of the grass showing and think it adds to the image. But all your suggestions were excellent. :)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics