I captured this image at a stop along 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, handheld sitting on the ground
1/1250 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV +1 ISO 6400 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 500mm (750mm 35mm Equivalent)
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2022 and Topaz Denoise AI
Cropped for composition and presentation
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Hi Joe .. a nice bird with a good posture , nicely isolated from BG .... which looks nice apart from the artifacts .
Not sure about the colors in the subject , but have not seen the bird myself ... so they might be correct , depending on the light .
I would like to see a version with Neat image in use rather than Denoise AI .....
Well detailed and super colours, the background looks a little unsettled here and there, possibly colour noise?
Hi Jon, thank you for viewing and commenting. I think the background looks a little unsettled because did a poor job (wrong tool) of changing some areas. See my response to Andreas, I think that will explain.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Hi Joe .. a nice bird with a good posture , nicely isolated from BG .... which looks nice apart from the artifacts .
Not sure about the colors in the subject , but have not seen the bird myself ... so they might be correct , depending on the light .
I would like to see a version with Neat image in use rather than Denoise AI .....
Looks not like color noise to me ....
TFS Andreas
Hi Andreas, thank you for viewing and commenting. I use Topaz because at this time it appears to be the best while preserving feather detail without smudges or artifacts. I am posting two images, each identical, the first using Neat Image, the second Topaz. I used the auto settings for both letting the algorithm of the software determine the noise. See my next two posts.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Joe ... the Neat Image file does look better to me .
Hi Andreas, I read your private message and was going to send you the original but when I was back at the computer the message with your email address was gone. I can send the original if you can work on a DNG. I convert all images to DNG's in Lightroom. Most times I can extract the original NEF but this set of images when imported it must have been unchecked to embed the original file. Let me know if you want it.
On the Neat Image file the neck feathers are smudged from the noise reduction. Using both I find that Topaz Denoise AI in most instances is better for preserving feather detail while reducing the noise. I have looked at many images side by side. Most times I work up both Neat Image and Topaz picking the one I think is better after comparing.
Thanks for your interest, let me know if you want a link to the original in DNG format.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
The Neat Image version looks terribly noisy to me. I like the image and had zero problem with the background in the original post. Joe did a fine job with a potentially awkward image design.
with love, artie
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Hi Joe ... thanks for the DNG file
I made basic adjustments in C1 .... really basic !!!
Cropped in PS and downsized with no further edits .... before using Neat Image
Hi Andreas, thank you for taking time to work on my image. Both look good, the one using Neat Image certainly has a smoother background with less noise. In my original post of the image I had done a couple tweaks to separate the bird from the background. I think we do post processing differently but get to the same place in the end. Thanks again, Andreas.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Hi Joe no problem , was a pleasure .
I kindly disagree that we come to the same place in the end , as your versions are pushed a lot more in terms of color and contrast .... matter of taste .
Another thing is that my version with Neat Image is showing a lower noise level than yours , albeit using the same software .