Old Bird - New Stick

[Glennie Passier]

Here we are again. This is one of the adults..still a bit wary.

Image taken in failing light.

In ACR - Increased Exposure by +.85 Highlights -100 Shadows +65 (Shoulder was being blown out.) Played with temperature slider. I think it's an interesting effect.
In PSCS6 - My first luminosity layer (on BG) Curves adjustment layer to bird and stick, lightened eye, cropped, NR on BG and smart sharpened 15% .3 for web posting.

Canon 5D2
Sigma 150-600mm @175mm
ISO 800
1/160sec @ f6.3
Tripod

C&C Always welcomed and appreciated!

[Jack Dean III]

Great job Glennie. I love the perch, pose, detail in the bird and the background. Lovely work.

[annmpacheco]

Wow, terrific work here Glennie! I like how you warmed things up and there sure is some nice details throughout the bird, good exposure! The eye looks great. Sweet BG and i like your perch.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! Highlights look OK and nice detail in darks. Good focus! The perch is a little heavier than ideal, but interesting. Tell him to perch right on the end! More ideal if the camera was aimed a little lower, and maybe zoomed back just a little, so the bottom of the branch isn't cut off. (Hard to know without seeing it, but something to think about next time.)

What does it look like with the luminosity layer turned off? Not always ideal to have the BG brighter than the subject.

[Glennie Passier]

Thank you Diane. I thought the same about the bigger stick and thought; 1.Yes. It's a bit big, and 2.Yes. I should have included more (all) of the bottom. I'll talk to my assistant about that!

I also understand now that perhaps ideally the BG should not be brighter than the subject, however, after experimenting (and you know I like to experiment) I liked the effect. It did seem to lighten and soften. It is certainly a big change from the original capture. This BG is different from the other butcher bird postings.
This is taken from the edge of my yard to the other side and the trees are a lot closer. It is interesting to see how the different times of the afternoon (or morning) effect the BG tremendously with the OOF light and shade.

Getting back to the luminosity curve layer...when should it be applied?

[Diane Miller]

Any adjustment should be applied whenever you want its effect! It's just one of the general guidelines that we pay the most attention to a brighter object or part of a picture. So often that would want to be the subject. But not always! I'm an iconoclast -- I love images that can give a twist to things, but it needs to be a twist that works. (Now, don't ask me what works.... It's sort of like one of our Supreme Court justices said, years ago, regarding a ruling on pornography. He said he couldn't define it but he knew it when he saw it.)

I love to experiment too -- that's the fun way to learn! If you like an effect, then go for it! In my opinion, not all head angles have to be 1.5 degrees toward you. Not all flying birds need to be approaching you at a 5 degree angle. The light doesn't have to be exactly precisely behind you. The center of attention doesn't always have to be exactly at a point of thirds. (A lot of compositions get ruined by someone trying to adhere to that "rule.") But then I'm one of those people who regard a stop sign as a suggestion -- but when it's a good idea I certainly obey it. So take this with a grain of salt.

Another thought about a brighter BG -- it can be a nice touch to darken the edges, especially when the BG is bright. Subtly -- in most cases it shouldn't be obvious to someone who hasn't seen the original. You can experiment with it in raw conversion in the Effects panel.

[Jim Keener]

Your bird is so beautiful. It's heartening to see the progress. I do think the background fights that lovely subject. But then most of my BGs are plain, blue sky.

ASIDE
The cranes are leaving. When I visited Bernardo today, they weren't eating! None of them out of thousands. And all were facing east. Muslim cranes? I'm experiencing abandonment issues.