Juvenile Kite (take 2)

[Paul Burdett]

Hi all. Feedback to my previous post highlighted the "softness' of the bird/eye, so I thought I'd edit another Juvenile Black shouldered Kite taken recently in order to try to improve the sharpness. The difference in exif is that this one was 1/2000th sec, iso1000, f6.3. Also hand-held in the same windy conditions as before. I also added some sharpening to the tiff file before downsizing using the bicubit sharpening in the export to jpg process. I also used some noise reduction to selective parts of the bird. Hopefully a better result?

[Daniel Cadieux]

The IQ looks acceptable to me. I like the the eyes looking like marbles. The steep angle and messy perch do not help though.

[John Mack]

Agree with Daniel here. This looks sharper than your last post.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Daniel/John. Thanks so much...it looks like a little pre-sharpening before downsizing may be the solution to my "soft" images. I cloned out a lot of branches above and below the bird, but I actually don't mind the twigs to the right of the bird.

[Walker Noe]

Cool bird, but a tough angle and light. You did well here.

[Glenn Pure]

The sharpness of this one definitely looks better. I would compose this one differently with more on the left and less on the right. Good to have the bird looking in your direction and interesting to see the brownish eye of the juvenile versus the intense red eye of the adults of this species.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Paul, great eye contact, and definitely a juvie as he doesnt have the red eyes yet. I agree with Glenn on having more space on the LHS.

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Glenn and Stu. I agree regarding the crop, but there were so many branches etc to the left that it would have been a huge cloning task. I cloned out quite a lot above and to the left as it was.