Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: AM Snowy Owl

  1. #1
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Eastern Shore of Maryland
    Posts
    611
    Threads
    65
    Thank You Posts

    Default AM Snowy Owl

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Taken just after the sunrise it looks like this Snowy Owl had just finished breakfast. Not good for the breakfast but I am glad these Owls seem to be thriving in this unusually far south destination. Eastern shore of Maryland. Basic edits in LR. NR and sharpened subject in PS.
    1/2000, f6.3, auto ISO 900, 500 f4E + 1.4III, D850. cc

    Attachment 174014
    Last edited by John Whaley; 02-04-2018 at 10:05 AM.

  2. #2
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    SW Michigan
    Posts
    14,127
    Threads
    821
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    John:

    I really like the story telling in this image. The trail of feathers is great. Nice sense of the environment. Great early light.

    If your style allows, I would consider removing the one plant 'sprouting' from the top of his head. The rest are fine for me.

    Nice comp as well.

    Cheers

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

  3. #3
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Eastern Shore of Maryland
    Posts
    611
    Threads
    65
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Yep - Should have caught that. Thank you.

    Name:  6741 - bpne.jpg
Views: 107
Size:  512.2 KB

  4. #4
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    SW Michigan
    Posts
    14,127
    Threads
    821
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    John:

    Even better!

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

  5. #5
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Staten Island, New York
    Posts
    3,124
    Threads
    260
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    I love the gruesome and dark feeling that this photo has. Just the scattered remains of the bird are excellent. You have great light here and a classic Snowy in the dunes shot with beautiful early morning light. I prefer the repost with the grasses behind the bird removed. Snowy Owls are very difficult to get to open their eyes when the sun is out. When the eyes are both wide open the photo has much more impact. Even more so of course if the owl is looking at you or mostly at you. I think you need to tone down the yellows a little on the birds and tone down the highlights on the face. Also the shadow at the bottom of the image looks too blue. The background would benefit from some noise reduction.

  6. Thanks John Whaley thanked for this post
  7. #6
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Eastern Shore of Maryland
    Posts
    611
    Threads
    65
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Issac - Thank you for the detailed feedback as always. It is much appreciated. I edited the images using your suggestions although I did not remove all the yellow as she was bathed in direct sunrise light. Hopefully improved.

    Name:  850_6741NIpss-2.jpg
Views: 51
Size:  575.4 KB

  8. #7
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Staten Island, New York
    Posts
    3,124
    Threads
    260
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    Shadow area looks better for sure. The birds face is improved but I don't think perfect. These situations are really difficult. I often shoot in this light and I pay special attention to how the birds look in the field as compared to how they look on the computer screen. 100% of the time, the image on the computer screen is over saturated and too yellow. The same goes for low light situations where the images are always too blue. Both of these things need to be dealt with in post. In short what I am saying is that birds do not get as saturated as we think that they do in this light and as saturated as the camera thinks they do. I downloaded your pic but the file was huge and almost 1000mb. Not sure why. I messed with it but had to resize it just to get the size down below 600. Also had to do it at 90% so not sure that it will look as good as it looks at 100%. Very strange and not sure why that happened.

    I selected the bird and reduced the blues, reduced the yellows and dodged the shadowed areas. Then I took away some of the black in the whites in selective color. Then I added some extra warmth to the background, controlled highlights a little and applied NR to the background. Probably did a little more than it needed but again I was trying to lower the file size. Then because I had to downsize the photo I gave the bird a little extra sharpening. Usual disclaimer that this is all better done on the full size high res file.

  9. Thanks John Whaley thanked for this post
  10. #8
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Eastern Shore of Maryland
    Posts
    611
    Threads
    65
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Looks great. I appreciate your taking the time to do the edit and for the explanation.

  11. #9
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    Staten Island, New York
    Posts
    3,124
    Threads
    260
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    You need help with any of the things that I did. The changes were subtle but significant. Lifting the shadows, reducing the yellows, enhancing the whites. a bit more sharpening and the noise reduction to the background. All relatively minor but together I think they make a big impact. The white owl stands out better against a smooth background. And you don't lose the feeling of the early morning light.

  12. #10
    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    12,731
    Threads
    910
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Love the story that is told with this image.
    Your repost is very very good,
    Gail

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Web Analytics