Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Belted Kingfisher (m)

  1. #1
    BPN Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Lakeland, FL
    Posts
    7,533
    Threads
    2,043
    Thank You Posts

    Default Belted Kingfisher (m)

    Attached Images Attached Images
     
    I captured this image at Blackpoint Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Merritt Island, Florida. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

    Nikon D500
    Nikon 500mm PF + Nikon 1.4 III Teleconverter, Handheld through vehicle window
    1/2500 F/8 Matrix Metering EV -1/3 ISO 1250 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 700mm (1050mm 35mm Equivalent)
    Post processed in Lightroom Classic. Photoshop CC 2022 and Neat Image for noise reduction, softened background, work on eye to remove second catchlight and reflection
    Cropped for composition and presentation
    Last edited by Joseph Przybyla; 01-10-2022 at 05:42 PM.
    Joe Przybyla

    "Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams

    www.amazinglight.smugmug.com

  2. #2
    Forum Participant
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    San Mateo, CA
    Posts
    3,643
    Threads
    398
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    This is a really pretty image, Joseph. The lighting is great, the exposure looks perfect, and the wider crop works well. I'm curious about what you did to 'soften' the BG? The perch looks a bit plastic, and I'm curious if what you did to the BG affected it.

  3. #3
    BPN Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    Lakeland, FL
    Posts
    7,533
    Threads
    2,043
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dorian Anderson View Post
    This is a really pretty image, Joseph. The lighting is great, the exposure looks perfect, and the wider crop works well. I'm curious about what you did to 'soften' the BG? The perch looks a bit plastic, and I'm curious if what you did to the BG affected it.
    Hi Dorian, the darker areas of the background were dark shadows in the vegetation that looked harsh/bad. To soften the appearance I took the image into Photoshop. Using the Quick Selection Tool I clicked on Select Subject. That selected the subject and about half the perch, for the rest of the branches/leaves I expanded the selection to include them, feathered the selection and inversed the selection so only the background would be changed. Using the Paint Brush Tool with the hardness set to 0 and the opacity set to 20 % I picked up the green of the background and painted over the dark areas by brushing across them and blending until it looked good.

    Regarding the plastic looking perch, nothing done to it other than normal exposure sliders for the whole image. The leaves are Mangroves, rubbery kind of leaves, most likely that is why they appear plastic.

    Thank you for viewing and commenting.
    Joe Przybyla

    "Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams

    www.amazinglight.smugmug.com

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    26,311
    Threads
    3,979
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    That is one beautiful KF image! We usually find them perched on bare branches, so seeing one on a leafed one is a treat! Good IQ on the bird. Perhaps the very brightest whites on the chest could be toned down - but gotta be careful as it is easy to render these too grey.

  5. #5
    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Dortmund / Germany
    Posts
    11,209
    Threads
    1,261
    Thank You Posts

    Default

    Hi Joe ... very nice KF image .
    Personally I would go a bit warmer with the WB , matter of taste.

    Cannot see any plastic appearance in the leaves .

    TFS Andreas

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