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I think this is a really nice shot, Michael. The soft light works really nicely and that rock as a perch is really nice and clean. I love how you have that second stone on the right to give balance to this image. Some purist would say the head turn is ever so slightly less than ideal but it doesn't really bother me. I think subject - background separation (in terms of what's in focus and what's not in focus) works really well here. Now, I think there could be some room for improvements. I would crop out about 2/3 of the OOF water at the bottom as I think the OOF-ness weakens the "foundation" of this image. 1/3 of that water (which is more focus) really gives a solid ground to build on top of. Another thing about the composition is the split horizon. It's kinda dead center and cuts the bird at the joint. I don't know how to improve this in the field though as shifting up or down would create a worse situation with the vantage point and body angle. But again, there is a lot of good things about this image and I think you should give yourself a pat on the back! :)
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Thanks for your reply Adhika, good suggestions, I didn't even think about the water line in the middle, good eye! you are right though, not much I could do to change it. Still much better for a background than I usually get with these birds!
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In a rush here, but very nice image! I like the balance provided by the smaller rock. I would darken the water at the bottom, as on Adhika's gull. Not a huge lot to do about the water line but you could cool down the trees to make them blend with the water a little. You'd need to do a very precise masking job on the bird then do a masked adjustment layer for Hue/Sat or Selective Color.
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Mike, I really like this. The bird stands out well from the BG. I see what Adhika has seen, but I find the image just so nice I wouldn't try to do too much more. Darkening the bottom OOF water would finish this off.
Great work!
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Hi Diane, Thanks for the comments! Darkening the bottom water should be pretty easy, I am not sure about the precise masking, being a photo shop novice, any good links for a "how to" ?
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Mike: Yep, a keeper for sure. I really like the colors in this one, and the perch was just beautiful. I'm a novice at Photoshop as well, so can't give you any tips on how to apply what Diane was talking about. Hope you get other opportunities from this rock, as it looks to make a splendid part of any composition.
Just well done!! :)
AP
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You can generally get a good mask with the Quick Selection tool (in the Toolbar). Zoom in and go to a small brush as needed to add or subtract small areas. Then hit the backslash key for an overlay and paint with a black or white brush to further refine. Then go to Select > Refine edge to feather and adjust appropriately. Zoom in to see things clearly. You will need to inverse the mask (Select > Inverse) to work on the BG.
Many tutorials online.
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