Hey guys, it has been quite some time since my last post here. I apologize for not being able to participate as much as I wish but I hope I will be more active in the upcoming months.
Here is my little contribution to the theme. I don't know if river bank birds qualify as shore ones. If not, I will remove the theme prefix.
This is a white-throated dipper I had the chance to observe this summer. The conditions were a bit challenging - generally dark with lots of very bright spots due to the surrounding vegetation.
I hope you like it. Any advises and comments are more than welcome.
Thanks,
Kalin
Nikon D3
Nikkor 300 mm, f/2.8 + 1.7tc
500mm, manual exposure, f/5, 1/640, ISO 1600
PP in Capture One and Photoshop
Hi Kalin. I really don't know what to think on this one. There are a few things against it, but, I kinda like the 'feel' of the image. It does look 'unnatural', but, the various colours in the BG(apart from the brights) blend so well with the perch and the bird. You got nice detail on the bird, and I like the pose. The OOF object in the FG is a distraction. The bright parts on the BG also distract. It sure does have a 'futuristic' and 'arty' look about it
Kalin I like it because it is different. I would suggest lowering the brightness of the large area immediately adjacent to the rock and also making a careful selection of the bird and removing the strong blue cast. I like the blue colouration in the rock and on the right hand side. As an alternative you may wish to consider adjusting the colour temperature at raw, this will change the overall degree of blue in the image.
Hi Kalin and welcome back. Your quasi-self critique ("challenging conditions) says it all. Aside from the things you mentioned the light was from the right (rather than over your head).
Is this a large crop? I ask because the image quality/and sharpness look a bit below par. I do like your image design and the o-o-f rock in the foreground does not bug me at all.
with love, atie
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
I do like the look of this Kalin - and I think the composition works well. The bird's pose is good and the rock perch adds a nice bit of difference. I don't mind the out of focus rock on the lower right either. Background in this is very nice too - the only thing that bothers me is the one small specular highlight towards the upper left. I'd darken it or clone it out. The bird does look a touch blue to me but the tone and detail look fairly good. Overall, I find this quite a nice shot.
Hi all!
Thanks for the great comments and advises. The conditions were really challenging - bright light and deep shadows. Yes the sun was up on the right. It is interesting that I did not notice the blue cast until you mentioned it and now I see it everywhere. I checked all the images from the same day and they all have it. It might be some light dispersed in the water. I don't know. I'll see what happens when I play a bit with the warmth settings. The image is just a bit cropped. I don't know why it looks like this. It looks better on my desktop monitor which has a lower resolution than my laptop but a bigger size. May be it is one of the problems with this image.
Thanks again!
Kalin
White-throated dipper
Reply With Quote
