Barn Swallow

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

I made this image in Bear River Migratory Refuge Last week

Camera Settings:-
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Nikon D500 600 f/4 + 1.7 x TCII + 12mm Extension Tube
1/2000 sec; f/9; ISO 800
Manual; Matrix metering
Photographed from car using BLUB.


Post Processing:-
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Raw Processing using C1P
Cropping - Remove some at the top and bottom
Nik 25-25 Filter on Bird at reduced opacity
Tonal Adjustments in Viveza
Neat Image NR
Sharpening for Presentation
Dodge selectively
No Cloning.


I could not get right on sun angle as I was photographing from car.


Let me know your thoughts and comments.


Thanks
Krishna

[dankearl]

Nice pose but not really sharp and lacking DOF for this kind of photo.
I think the 1.7 + extension tube + a lot of filters, adjustments etc is too much to ask.

[gail bisson]

Wow! You were close. I have rarely had the need to even wish for an extension tube!
I like the detail especially in the mouth and eye area. Cool to see the veins in the mouth and cheek
Very nice,
Gail

[Aditya Sridhar]

I really like this shot Krishna! As Gail has mentioned, the eyes and the mouth are really cool.

The apparent lack of sharpness is likely due to the combination of the TC and ext. tube. There are some areas of low contrast around the wing and cheek regions. I can also see a light halo around the bird due to the Nik filters.
The large details are amazing though! To get as close as you did and capture such a pose is a feat in itself so any criticism I have is nit-picking. The processing on this picture is very good too.

[John Mack]

Love that screaming pose and the detail looks great on the bird. Killer two toned background as well. You were close to this one.

[Dorian Anderson]

I am also a big fan of this shot. I like the detail on the face, and the calling action is a great touch! Would have been nice to have a touch more DOF across the subject, but that's relatively minor. Likewise on the shadow from the wing though it's mostly minimized by the attention the beautiful face commands.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Krishna, I really like the shot I have not seen one so close with the mouth so widely opened. I like the image very much, just a suggestion but I would imagine there is an awful lot that could have been done in C1P that would have negated the Nik filters and I suspect the image may have been even better.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

It is very interesting, In my Home Monitor, when I look the image I do not see any Halos.

On my work place with a very bigger monitor when I know I am looking for Halos I see it.

I think the problem is not on Nik Filters, the problem was this step

I used Image Adjustment, Equalize on the background. This I generally use to find dust spots. I had kept the opacity at 10% and as I liked the effect, but then overall this could have caused the issue.

I will see if I can reprocess the image with out the above.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Repost
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Let me know if you still see the Halos.

[Moe Richard]

Superb detail, color, and BG. I have an ASUS 32" Pro Art monitor and I still see the halos thogh this is much improved from the original post.

[Paul Burdett]

Great close up...love the detail in the face area...that open beak is a killer, with the veins shown inside its mouth. No major nit pics from me, except the light band across the eye, which I'd fix in pp. The shadow on the wing is a slight distraction too. Very similar to the Welcome Swallow we have here in Brisbane. TFS