SPLISH SPLASH I WAS TAKING A BATH

[gary ellwein]

The Willets have returned. This bird continually bathed for several minutes while my wife and I sat near by in our truck. It must have been prepping it's breeding plumage for a hot date. The high angle of view and the miserable background puts this image into the evidence image file as far as my bird images are concerned. Playing around with various plug-ins, I found Topaz Adjust Flat and Smooth preset helped tone down the bg and preserved the water droplets. I applied a mask and recovered detail in the willet.

Forgot to mark this one as a theme image.

[Dennis Bishop]

The colors in the rest of the image nicely echo those of the willet, and I think the background underlines the activity shown by the water drops and the movement of the water and the willet. I like it.

[Wendy Kates]

Gary, I like it too. You achieved excellent detail in the Willet and I like the way you toned down the background. The water droplets help mute the background too, but possibly not enough to please the Bird Photography Background Police who lurk around the other forums of this site!

[Hazel Grant]

I understand where Wendy was going with the police comments. Agree also that the water droplets are a plus.

[Anita Bower]

I see what you mean about the bg, but, you handled it very nicely. The colors of it are perfect. The bird itself looks great! Having fun with a bath.

[Diane Miller]

Thanks to the Background Police, we get to enjoy it here! Very effective treatment for a difficult image. Hope I can remember to try it...