arctic tern

[annmpacheco]

this tern was returning to the ground nest with a fish for the young. nearly full frame, removed piece of feather on toenail and a piece of grass stuck on the fish.

1Dx
600mmII
1.4tc

iso 1250
f6.3
1/3200

[Bill Dix]

Nice light on the tern; good wing position and forked tail spread. Lovely background. And a fish. What more could you want, except perhaps for slightly sharper detail in the far wing. Good job not clipping a wing, at almost FF. Feels just a little bit centered in the frame. During our trip I just couldn't get over what elegant birds these are, despite their oft aggressive tendencies.

[arash_hazeghi]

love the pose with the fish, I don't mind the composition, beautiful BG and sharp where it counts, the fish adds more interest.

The image is a bit too bright. the whites in the chick are a bit hot but the red channel is totally blown up and saturated (beak and feet).

you really need to calibrate your monitor, it's a shame if you get such good files but struggle to process them to their full potential.

TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

Perfect pose - both wings look good. Terrific BG, and the fish is a nice addition. Sharp. I agree the image looks bright and too saturated in the reds.

[Marina Scarr]

Killer pose, BG and composition here. Love the fish. Wonder how the feather would have looked if you left it in. The image does look a tad bright to my eyes. I'd like to see the blacks on the head a little blacker and the whites toned down just a tad. I checked a bunch of arctic tern pictures and their beaks and feet sure look pretty darn red when they are in breeding plumage.

[gail bisson]

Well done Ann. Love the fact that he has a fish in his mouth.
I think the reds are pretty accurate. I was there with you so I know it was a setting sun and these birds have very red bills.
The bird is tack sharp and the whites are great except for the little area on the cheek. Agree that the brightness or exposure could be reduced slightly ( and that may reduce some of the reds in the bill and help the cheek area)
Did you clone the feather out from the birds left foot? The toenail on that foot looks very pale-is this from improper masking when you cloned out the feather?
Anyway, great flight shot
Gail

[arash_hazeghi]

I think the reds are pretty accurate. I was there with you so I know it was a setting sun and these birds have very red bills.


Gail

The reds aren't accurate they are just blown up. The red channel can get blown during RAW conversion or processing of the TIFF. It's best to check the reds in PS after conversion to JPEG and make sure they are no more than 240. Here they are saturated at 255 and thus have lost detail.



The solution is to go back and tone down the exposure at RAW conversion or tone down the red channel in the TIFF/JPEG

On a good calibrated screen the blown reds are easy to catch but if you don't have a properly calibrated monitor, always check the red channel in shots taken in late evening

if you can post the RAW file I can show you what it should look like

hope this helps

[annmpacheco]

Hi Arash, I have PM'ed you . Here is the link:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...1/APDX8979.CR2
Im going to go back and will repost as well. thank you

[annmpacheco]

Well done Ann. Love the fact that he has a fish in his mouth.
I think the reds are pretty accurate. I was there with you so I know it was a setting sun and these birds have very red bills.
The bird is tack sharp and the whites are great except for the little area on the cheek. Agree that the brightness or exposure could be reduced slightly ( and that may reduce some of the reds in the bill and help the cheek area)
Did you clone the feather out from the birds left foot? The toenail on that foot looks very pale-is this from improper masking when you cloned out the feather?
Anyway, great flight shot
Gail

Hi Gail, Im working on a repost, but no on the left toenail, it was on the birds right nail and it was a small piece of feather, but i see what you mean about the lighter nail...

[David Salem]

Although I can't comment on the red beak and feet as I have never seen this species, the rest of the exposure looks great to me. The light angle is pretty much perfect with no shadows showing and we can see the eye well and there is nice detail in the black cap. The beautiful pose and green background finish this one off Real well. Very nice work Ann

[arash_hazeghi]

The exposure in the RAW file was spot on but post processing had made it brighter

here is my repost

notice the reads are now at 210 level

[stuart wanuck]

well captured image great fish action and bg