5DmkIII, 500mm+1.4TC, ISO 800, 1/320sec, f11, tripod mounted.
Male and female Wood ducks
5DmkIII, 500mm+1.4TC, ISO 800, 1/320sec, f11, tripod mounted.
Nice to find them together and it looks like both are reasonably close to the same focal plane. Nice low point of view but the BG is closer to them than is ideal, especially in the upper right. Contrast is on the high side, too. I'd crop a little from the right and bottom (but not so much as to crowd the reflection). I'd go back to the raw conversion and lower contrast. It could be lowered more in the UR area (that's better done in PS) to mitigate the need to crop.
What converter do you use? Did you do work in PS -- if so, what? Knowing the processing history is the best clue to any suggestions, and I can never remember what anyone uses.
The image is tagged with AdobeRGB. You should always convert to sRGB for a web post. See my tutorials in Educational Resources.
Reduced contrast, applied some blur to the vegetation in front of the male duck, added a slight gradient from lower left to upper right, converted to sRGB, cropped some from right and bottom. Maybe could use some slight more crop from the left, now.
Better?
I think so.
Any other comments?
Thank you, Diane.
So do I!
John, what a gorgeous pair of ducks. I love to see images of more than one bird. Unfortunately, it doesnt' happen often enough. Our Aussie Wood ducks are a bit on the subtle side compared to these. The repost is much better to my eye. I don't think I would crop any more from the left. The reflection looks a bit heavy to me.
Well done John!
Hi John.... getting the two of them so perfect is totally precious! I just recently (and FINALLY) got a shot of a Wood Duck. Wood Ducks always look best in an environmental image like this. Just a thought...a bit less (or more blurred reflection on the bottom.... a bit (just a bit) more environment on the top (reduce the yellow channel in the greenery), and crop the right, just to the big black thingy. Love how the subdued iridescence shows here, blues, reds, purples. Awesome capture!
Ooops... missed the RP! Like it!
Last edited by Sandy Witvoet; 04-07-2016 at 04:50 PM.
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Thank you all for your comments, criticisms and encouragement.
JohnG
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