Kingfisher (F)

[Steve Kaluski]

Another frame from the rather damp and dismal day with the Kingfishers, note the hint of a small sprinkling of snow on the perch.

I wasn't going to post this image as this day was really a "test day" in using a new bit of kit for the passenger door on a safari vehicle coupled with the awesome Flexline ball head, so I wanted to see how low I could go tech wies. Light would not allow to drop less than ISO1600 but at 1/200 was good enough. Left the spiders strand in, and yes a tad more DoF for the bill tip, but as I said I wasn't;t really looking for that.

Thanks to those who commented or viewed the last posting.

Steve

Subject: Kingfisher (F) (Alcedo atthis)
Location: UK
Camera: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III
Lens: EF500mm f/4L IS II USM
Exposure: 1/200s at f/5.6 ISO2000
Original format: Landscape, 60% of original
Processed via: LRCC 12.1 & PS'23 24.1.0

[Kurt Bowman]

A fine frame Steve! Lovely color, love the bits of snow on the perch and like that the perch is sharp as well. Nicely done

[Jonathan Ashton]

Super quality and processing, I viewed in PSCC, to me the colours look a little saturated, but nevertheless very pleasing.
Your reference to ISO I suspect does not bother you these days as I think you have moved into the Auto ISO camp?

[Steve Kaluski]

Thank you Kurt, much appreciated.

Just a tad Jon, but here I am perhaps pandering to those who like rich, vibrant colours and may be viewing from the ‘Peanut gallery’ . Re Auto ISO, Jon you know how long I have told folk to do so, it all started from the 1DXMK1, which was a game changer. However, if shooting landscapes then I will change my approach. Cheers

[Chris van Rooyen]

Very pleasing frame Steve, especially given the challenging light conditions! Noise as in all your image extremely well controlled. Has a Japanese print print-like quality. You already mentioned the bill tip DoF, minor nit

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Steve, I like the image, love the perch. Your usual spot on processing, noted your comments on the tip of the bill. Beautiful bird, nicely shown. Thank you for sharing.

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Chris, re ‘noise’ it all comes down to exposure and the pixel amount. This is why I will push the R3 way beyond most (Andreas too) because something like a 21-24mpx camera will always do better than a higher one like the D850. Here, NR was almost minimal within Lr ie around 6, higher I might process via another converter.

If you shoot high (6400-12,800) and exposed correctly, any noise is minimal and very easy to deal with, expose badly and noise will be your nightmare. In good light and the file exposed well, no need for any NR up-to ISO2000, perhaps 2500. Often if badly applied, more sharpening is required and everything begins to look/appear coarse and crunchy and the image looks appalling.

[William Dickson]

Looks good here Steve.....Nice pose, detail, HA and colours on the bird...I really love the detail on the perch....The colours in the BG sets it off nicely....Another well done from the peanut gallery

Will

[Paul Burdett]

Steve. Stunning!! Is that a "setup" perch? In any case I love it. Bill tip does not worry me in the least. I've been using auto iso lately, but finding it less than successful as determining exposure compensation is difficult. Using for example +1 or more when the bird is in the sky works ok, but then if the bird goes lower against darker trees the result is not always good. Maybe it works better with mirrorless, where the histogram is visible in the viewfinder? At least in full manual I can see the meter reading.

[Steve Kaluski]

Cheers Joe.

Thanks Will, time for you to get to Alans, but avoid March/April when I think they are breeding.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Steve ... MK III or R3 ??
Regardless of the Body image quality is nice , nothing new when it does come out of your pipe .
Absolutely nothing to change really , maybe add a touch more brightness to the darker tones as an alternative .... not really for improving things .
Glad you worked this in terms of color intensity for the folks on the gallery .... and not for the folks who are afraid of color
Pose is classical and the perch is very cool , no need to remove the spider stuff

TFS Andreas

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Paul, there are many perches we have put in, it's pot luck where they go, so you need ideally two cameras set up, one long lens the second a shorter zoom.

Yes +1 sounds about right, varying BKGs are a pain and if there was someone around from Avian I'm sure they could advise. You should recall Chas G, I think he did a YT on setting a Spot grey point which helps deal with your issues Paul, might be worth a rummage.

It might be Paul that the camera body is less forgiving and so Exposure really needs to be spot on, Mirrorless, probably unless it's Sony with the Zebras, I find it similar to digital bodies, and you often have to hit a button to either get the Histogram up, or to hide it because it does get in the way of composition at times. Once you get it right, light doesn't change all is good.

Good luck.

[Brian Sump]

Steve, I love this frame. You have your own unique presentation in terms of noise reduction and it's easily identifiable IMO.

All the color for me, you probably know that and I'd take this as my personal choice for processing 7/7 days of the week. The touch of snow is really nice.

Composition is strong and love the purple effects behind. If you have a suggestion to avoid posterization using masks to adjust lum in the bkg I'd listen.

Personally, it's so serene I'd get rid of that spider web in a heartbeat. Overall, wish it were mine. TFS.

[Dorian Anderson]

Fantastic image. No nits other than removing the spider web if you'd like. So this wasn't a set-up? You drove up on this bird spontaneously?

[Steve Kaluski]

Thanks Andreas, to me the Spider web stays, but also see some merit in removal, but it's so minimal and does detract.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Brian, many thanks appreciate the comments.

If you have a suggestion to avoid posterization using masks to adjust lum in the bkg I'd listen.

Tough call as 99% of the time most images are OK, it's when you start to get dark green backdrops that they tend to be an issue, but when printed it's not there. Also greens when print can also be tricky as the can go muddy, and hard to replicate at times from what's on screen, this is why Soft proofing is required when printing, if you printed the file direct it would look crap. Hefty contrast in the BKG can also amplify things too, however IMHO if an image is well exposed, minimal cropping and some colours are not pushed in the process generally all should be good. If the high res master file is good and its not in there then it might just be down to compression/screen, however most posting are fairly free of this here. Just look at your Histogram whilst processing, if it starts to look spiky like a hair brush alarm bells start to ring. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Quote:
'Any process which "stretches" the histogram has the potential to cause posterization. Stretching can be caused by techniques such as levels and curves in Photoshop, or by converting an image from one color space into another as part of color management. The best way to ward off posterization is to keep any histogram manipulation to a minimum.'

manipulation to a minimum

Exactly what I have been preaching Brian.


I thought I mention it earlier Dorian, but there are serval perches on this stretch of river and we shoot from a blind, the KF will then decide where it wants to perch, hence why you need two cameras with two variable lens, one fixed the other a zoom.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Thanks Andreas, to me the Spider web stays, but also see some merit in removal, but it's so minimal and does detract.

That´s what i said ... no need to remove it

[Steve Kaluski]

Indeed you did and I agree

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Steve. Nor sure who Chas G is? but will search for the video. Cheers.

[Steve Kaluski]

Paul, if I have time I too will have a look, they might be long ‘interviews’ so you might just have to search. Can you PM your email so I can send the links.

Cheers

[Gabriela Plesea]

Superb image Steve, WOW

A well exposed frame with so much to look at. I absolutely love the composition and those vibrant colours, IQ is great, wonderful pose and head angle from the bird.

Lovely background too, smooth with no distractions, complements the subject so well and makes it stand out. Beautiful perch.

Whew, so much attention to detail, I am envious... Hope this goes to print?

Took great pleasure viewing, thank you so much for sharing,

Warmest regards,

[Steve Kaluski]

Thank you so much Gabriela, very much appreciated. There is quite bit going on with the KF but doubt I will get there much before end of March with the current trips planned.

Hope you are having a cracking time with the Cheetahs, talk soon hopefully, or radio blackout!!!!