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Thread: Preening Sharptail

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    Default Preening Sharptail

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    Shot last week in Nd. Finally starting to get out to some leks. I waited till it got above zero Fahrenheight. The cold isn't as bad as the walk in and out can be dangerous . Half hour to traverse through deep snow .One **** of a cardio work out. Figure around six hundred yards takes a half hour. I leave my blind out but have to put up when I get to the lek.
    Don't dare leave it up winds will blow into the next county. I never go out in winds nearing twenty mph. Just to hard to put up and collapse the blind. On this particular day had the first female tempting the boys on the lek. I have never figured why they start so early in the season. Won't start nesting till the end of April.
    I assume to get a pecking order and some dominance on the lek. This particular lek has twenty five to thirty males. Which is a large lek.
    Processed with Dpp ,slight Topaz adj. Photoshop.I wanted to leave some of the grass showing along with some detail of the snow in the canvas. Maybe should have cut it out and bird wouldn't be so close to center. Thoughts? Comments and critiques appreciated.
    Cannon R3
    Rf 400 2.8 L
    M 2.8
    1/2500
    ISO 3200

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    BPN Member William Dickson's Avatar
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    This is looking real good Kevin......One of your best IMO.....Everything about the bird is perfect...the pose..the HA...the detail.....The BG and FG 'fit' perfectly....Just wondering if reducing the blues a wee bit might make a difference.....Great work, and well worth the effort......

    Will

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Lovely shot, I agree regarding the blues. Composition looks fine to me, I think the OOF grasses on the LHS reduce the impact of the bird being central.

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    Hi Kevin, the experience you describe sounds wonderful, in my younger years I would have done it in a heartbeat. Living in New Hampshire for 58 years I can relate and remember the temperatures and wind you describe. The snow in your image brings back memories. I agree with Wil's and Jon's comments. Thank you for sharing.
    Joe Przybyla

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

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Nic picking with I'd also reduce the blues and maybe lose the blob at the to pop the frame. However, I love the shot, great shooting angle and the environment is right up my street, great pose on the bird

    Mike

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    BPN Member Andreas Liedmann's Avatar
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    Hi Kevin ... ah you made the move to mirrorless as well !
    Hope you are satisfied with the R3 and the 400 .

    Super image overall , the grass helps to fill the frame IMHO.
    Subject does look very well , I would just reduce the cyans ...

    TFS Andreas

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    This is great!! Awesome experience from the sounds of it. I'm ok with the faint blues on the snow, although it would be easy to remove just by lowering the blue channel in saturation. I would certainly remove them in the bird itself though. Having said this, you have such a wonderful frame here, with just enough habitat to make it work. The low angle gives it much eye-level intimacy as well.

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    Thanks so much for the kind compliments Will. I looked at the blues in previous mornings and they are really strong in the low spots on sunny mornings. I can see it either way. Could eliminate them on the back of the bird.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    As noted above many times, this is an excellent image. It could have been a contest winner. Simply put, you needed to move the lens to your right to move the bird to the left side of the frame.

    #1: Nobody gives a rat's *** what is going on being the bird.

    #2: The bird is centered in the horizontal frame.

    #3: The grasses on the right side of the frame are heavenly. We want to see more of them.

    #4: The snow on the left side of the frame is featureless and boring. We need to see less of that.

    #5: The two orange o-o-f grasses on the left side of the frame are somewhat distracting and do not quite fit with the otherwise gorgeous color scheme. Re-composing would have eliminated them.

    much love, a

    ps: I am not seeing much blue anywhere.
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