Female Prairie Chicken on Prairie Dog Mound

[kevin Hice]

Shot last spring at National Grasslands Pierre Sd. Displaced feathers on neck from copulation.Processed with Dpp 4.10,Photoshop,neat image. comments and critiques appreciated.
Canon 5D Mark 1V
500 f/4 L is II
Av
6.3
1/3200
Iso 2500

[gail bisson]

Looks like you had some great opportunities in ND.
I am not sure about the OOF male in the BG. It tells a story but the orange on the male pulls the eye away from the hen.
I find the 5D MK IV often gives a magenta cast to my shots- and you can see the cast in the dirt.
I would address this by using the color balance slider or the warming filter at about 20% opacity.
The image is still "thin" ie. lacks some punch. I would increase the blacks in the neutrals in selective coloring.
Gail

[kevin Hice]

Thanks Gail for the suggestions.

[Steve Kaluski]

I would address this by using the color balance slider or the warming filter at about 20% opacity.

The cast has stemmed from the WB, tweak the tint to the left and the cast should disappear.

I am not sure about the OOF male in the BG. It tells a story but the orange on the male pulls the eye away from the hen.

Totally agree Gail, it's too distracting

I find the 5D MK IV often gives a magenta cast to my shots

Never found that Gail, but very rarely you can get an image with Cross Curves.

Just my take.

The image is still "thin" ie. lacks some punch. I would increase the blacks in the neutrals in selective coloring.

You may find you clip the Blacks and loose a tad of detail, it's all there, just needs some tweaks in the Exposure/Gamma, but again no idea if the monitor is out slightly as previous question.

[kevin Hice]

Thanks Steve for the suggestions. I will check my monitor again. I think it is OK just my lack of processing in Photoshop is my problem.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Kevin, a monitor should be calibrated once a month, but hopefully the settings are correct.

IMHO, if you get the WB right first of all, then this will provide a good platform to build on, and where you then wish totake it colourwise. Keep all your 'Global' work within DOPP and all your refining to PSCC. Good luck.

[kevin Hice]

Here is another version Steve and Gail. I think it is better in some ways. But still could use some tweaking.Still see some magenta in the dirt. I thought I had it all corrected. Some of the problem there is lots of alkaline in the dirt looks like salt. Toned down the male in the back. Added some saturation and blacks in selective color. thanks for the suggestions.

[Bill Dix]

Nice view of the hen. Yes, maybe a slight additional warming would help. Including the male in the BG was an interesting idea to tell the story, but I agree with Gail that it does draw the eye, even when toned down.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Pretty neat scene here Kevin. I agree with the comments about the male bird, but the repost looks better in that regard with toned down orange. Other than that, I prefer the OP. I like the alert pose, but find the hidden foot behind the front leg unfortunate. Good details on the hen!

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Steve for the suggestions. I will check my monitor again. I think it is OK just my lack of processing in Photoshop is my problem.

Kevin if you want to forward the Raw I will gladly take a look and check the camera settings for you. Lack of PS skills, we have all been there, keep at it, that 'hill' may at times look tough, but if you keep it simple that mountain is manageable. Drop me a PM if you want to take up the offer.

Steve

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

I wish to see these birds some day in the field. Overall I like the eye, ok with males on the background.

TFS

[John Mack]

I usually don't mind other birds/animals in the background. But the orange here is too distracting. Looks nice and sharp.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Kevin, OK now I'm in a better position to comment.

The RP is not too far off just a slight cast, not knowing the colours or being there all I can do is take a fairly neutral approach. Techs and camera settings already covered with you prior, but I think having a bit more DoF based on the Raw would not have hurt. Original was well exposed, but the camera setting let the initial capture down, but an easy fix now. The raw was quite sharp, again could have been better.

Taking the Raw all I did was balance it out so I have no colour casts in all 3 channels, slightly opened up the exposure by a third of a stop, the advantage you have with DPP is that it won't add Contrast unless you tell it unlike LR which does behind the the scenes, so when using LR you have tontine this into account, fact. Keep all your Global work in DPP then export it to PS for fine tuning. Here I just added some Channel Curves to bolster the depth in both bird & soil, removed the offending second bird, 15 seconds in PS, done. Added a little saturation Curves adjustment, avoided Levels & Contrast, jobt done. Exported back to LR and Exported from LR for web.

Remember, our screens will differ and also what ambient light you have on, I have no lights just the two monitor screens on, so if you want to go warmer fine, your call Kevin.

Overall get the Techs honed, plus AF points, and your PS is good, just needs a tad more... The overall key is knowing what to leave out, not what to add. Keep up the hard work, it will pay off Kevin.

Cheers
Steve