Oystercatcher running with food

[Isaac Grant]

Here is another American Oystercatcher photographed at Breezy Point in Queens, New York. This photo was taken about 10 minutes earlier than the one I posted previously. There was a pair of them that were actively feeding. As the waves washed away they would run and quickly catch these little crabs and then run away from the incoming waves. Made for some nice photos and something other than them just standing there.

Canon 7d mark ii and Canon 500 f4 ii + 1.4x iii. ISO 400, SS 1/2500, F 7.1

Converted in DPP 4 where only adjustments made were highlights -2 and shadows +1

In PS I added canvas on the left cause I did not get the bird perfectly in the frame. Took advice from the other post and removed a few black marks using lasso and content aware fill. Also took a bit more off of the bottom as suggested prior. Changed a few levels, contrast, saturation. A bit of eye work (noise reduction and darkened pupil). Applied noise reduction to background with NIK Define2. Sharpened with NIK Output sharpener. In order to bring out more in the whites as I used NIK Color EFX PRO 4 and did a tonal contrast and white neutralizer adjustment. I think this worked better as there is not color cast and the whites look good to me.

Tried the detail extractor but have not found that I don't like the results. Seems over processed to me. Could someone help with what are the best settings to bring out details but not look over done? Even at 3% I did not like the look of it.

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet low angle shot Issac, details look very good as presented and the sweet light is a plus.

If your RAW file is sharp you don't need any of this NIK stuff to extract details or make it look good, a simple PS sharpening (with the right parameters) will do and it takes 10 seconds

best

[Isaac Grant]

Coming from you Arash that means a great deal.

I more used the NIK tonal contrast/white neutralizer to make the colors right. I have a very difficult time with whites, especially on a black and white bird in direct sun. I think NIK does a great job of making them look white and not having a strong cast to them, but clearly I am not anywhere near as skilled at post processing as you are. Do you have a different suggestion?

As for sharpening, are you saying that you prefer smart sharpen to the NIK output sharpener? My RAW was sharp or at least I think it was . I don't have much of a preference, just figured I would get my money's worth from the NIK software since I got it free . Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Marina Scarr]

You have shared one heck of an image here in dreamy light with colors that just pop right off of the screen. Details and sharpness looks just right on this female, and love seeing the food item, raised food and varying aspects of its environment.

[arash_hazeghi]

Coming from you Arash that means a great deal.

I more used the NIK tonal contrast/white neutralizer to make the colors right. I have a very difficult time with whites, especially on a black and white bird in direct sun. I think NIK does a great job of making them look white and not having a strong cast to them, but clearly I am not anywhere near as skilled at post processing as you are. Do you have a different suggestion?

As for sharpening, are you saying that you prefer smart sharpen to the NIK output sharpener? My RAW was sharp or at least I think it was . I don't have much of a preference, just figured I would get my money's worth from the NIK software since I got it free . Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

All you really need to produce the highest quality images is Canon DPP (Free) and Photoshop (which you need anyway). Don't waste your time fiddling with 10 different filters to get something right when you can get it in one place.



Do you have the DPP4 and post processing guides ?

[Isaac Grant]

Thank you so much Marina. I have admired your work for long time and you have set lofty goals for the rest of us to strive for. I appreciate the kind words.

[Isaac Grant]

I do not Arash. I love DPP. Used it exclusively for a long time. Used DPP 3 mostly. Have always been one of those people that tried to do only basic adjustments. Feel like if I did not nail it in the field then may as well just go out and try again. I'd much rather be lying on my belly on the beach than sitting in front of my computer. But eventually I realized that I needed to expand my horizons a bit and learn PS. I have been a life long birder and only picked up photography a few years ago. I used to do the shorebird counts at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. I took over the counts after Artie left. If you really think it will make a huge difference I would be happy to spend the money.

[David Salem]

First off I want to say that the image looks awesome and I like the pose, the colors, the details in the darks and lights and the fact that she has a nice juicy sand crab in her bill.
Secondly I total agree with the statement you made about getting it right in the field. It's the most important component in getting great images. If you set yourself up right and get a clean shot "in camera" the rest is just a few basic tweaks and it's ready to go.
As Aarash stated, if you have a nice sharp RAW file then just a bit of sharpening is almost all you need. I do very little to my images in PP besides some basic adjustments but I do work hard at my fieldwork and my alignment with the subject and the sun.
Nice work
P.S. I don't think you would be wasting your money to get some valuable info on using DPP. I want to get the guide myself.

[christopher galeski]

Great image,good POV and BG,nice exposure,well done.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello Isaac,

IMO you have a winner here, great POV and perfect HA from the subject, nice pose too, and let's not forget the "catch" which adds even more interest to an already lovely image.

Colours are superb, I just find the reds (beak) a tad too bright, I could be wrong though as I have never seen this species in real life.

Sharpness is good and nice detail too, this is well composed and presented, I agree with Arash you do not need any help from Mr. NIK here:)

I truly enjoyed viewing, let us have some more please

Have a super week-end,

[Isaac Grant]

Thank you David. Again, means a lot coming from you as well. Guess you and Arash have just helped me spend some money. I will buy the guide for sure to see what else I can do to help my images. Even small improvements can make a big difference in an image. And I am always open to learning.

[Bill Dix]

A beautiful image, Isaac. The raised food and food item, low POV and lovely light make for a winner. I know how Oystercatcher bills can really glow in the sunlight, but I might be tempted to tone this one down just a tad. Good advice above, although whatever processing you did here looks well done to my eye. I don't use NIK very often but with Topaz Detail I find that even 2% is often unnecessary when dealing with a sharp image out of the camera. That said, 2% applied just to the whites can sometimes pull out just a little more detail.

[Karl Egressy]

A truly beautiful image.

[Isaac Grant]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the time taken to comment and critique.

Bill, I agree that the red of the beak may be a bit hot. I also struggled with that a bit. The combination of the direct sun and the low angle of the sun while it was setting made the beak look like it was on fire in person. I honestly never know if I should tone it down or let it look that way. The RAW file looks pretty much like the way my shot here does with regards to the beak. Never used Topaz detail. When are the times or situations that you recommend? As I have stated I am always open to learning.

Gabriela, while reading and trying to improve my techniques, I came across this post on Artie's blog:

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2011/...fex-pro-4-tip/

I find this formula very very helpful for times when I have a very white bird in strong sun. I think it evens out the whites well and also brings out the tones in the dark areas. Perhaps there is a newer and better way to do things since this post was from 2011 but I think it worked well here. Really it is just about the only thing I did to the bird other than a bit of eye work and a slight contrast and highlight/shadows adjustment. I find it just makes the colors really pop. In addition I find that I have more success with the whites with this formula as opposed to using the white balance adjustment in DPP. Probably due to doing it wrong but with this I get detailed and white whites so mr. NIK is a good friend. I will post a Sanderling soon taken at basically the same time that I also used this formula on and I am quite pleased with how the whites came as opposed to the results that I got using the white balance on DPP.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone. Appreciate the time taken to comment and critique.

Bill, I agree that the red of the beak may be a bit hot. I also struggled with that a bit. The combination of the direct sun and the low angle of the sun while it was setting made the beak look like it was on fire in person. I honestly never know if I should tone it down or let it look that way. The RAW file looks pretty much like the way my shot here does with regards to the beak. Never used Topaz detail. When are the times or situations that you recommend? As I have stated I am always open to learning.

Gabriela, while reading and trying to improve my techniques, I came across this post on Artie's blog:

http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2011/...fex-pro-4-tip/

I find this formula very very helpful for times when I have a very white bird in strong sun. I think it evens out the whites well and also brings out the tones in the dark areas. Perhaps there is a newer and better way to do things since this post was from 2011 but I think it worked well here. Really it is just about the only thing I did to the bird other than a bit of eye work and a slight contrast and highlight/shadows adjustment. I find it just makes the colors really pop. In addition I find that I have more success with the whites with this formula as opposed to using the white balance adjustment in DPP. Probably due to doing it wrong but with this I get detailed and white whites so mr. NIK is a good friend. I will post a Sanderling soon taken at basically the same time that I also used this formula on and I am quite pleased with how the whites came as opposed to the results that I got using the white balance on DPP.

Isaac, I find that Topaz Detail will sometimes bring out just a bit more fine feather detail, especially in white feather areas. But it's easy to overuse and can result in a crunchy look. So sometimes I'll try it on a layer and then delete it if it's not working. And if you do use it, even at 2%, it takes less sharpening of the final image before reaching that crunchy zone. What I like about Topaz, over NIK, is that you can make a selection, create a layer, and apply the process just to the layer; whereas with NIK, in my very limited experience, it brings up the entire image and one must paint the desired or excluded areas, or use their control points, which I find cumbersome and imprecise. But as I say, I don't have much experience with it and I'm probably missing something.

[Isaac Grant]

Very helpful Bill. Thanks for the response. I agree that there is a very fine line in the crunch zone. I have not learned where the break is yet so have experimented and then just deleted my results cause they did not add to the image. Don't own Topaz but may one day. For now I am trying to master what I have. Plus I already need to buy the DPP guide and probably neat image as well!

[Lorant Voros]

Whatever your PP work was you did it right IMO. Beautiful image with the low angle, perfect timing, good composition and sweet light. A reason to enter the forum and enjoy the beautiful images. Thank you for sharing, Isaac.

[Mike Poole]

Lovely angle, and the walking pose is very nice. The prey item really adds as well, and this is a nicely processed shot to boot.

Mike

[Isaac Grant]

So many different ways to get to the same thing. Trying to learn them all and decide which I like best. Thanks for the compliment Lorant and Mike.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thank you Isaak, much appreciated, I will take a look at the link:) I did use Nik some years back so familiar with its features. Only felt, just like Arash above, that your frame was so good to begin with, it needed no help from additional software

Kind regards,