Osprey taking off

[Raul Quinones]

Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Green Cay wetlands, FL
9/18/2008
1/1600, F7.1, ISO 400

I got several pictures, better quality IMO, of this guy perching and another decent fly shot with the wings completely extended... but I decided to work this one first. For some reason I am not happy with the PS work, I believe I should be able to re-work the RAW image better... but after my fourth attempt I gave up.

BTW I wish the wing was not touching the branch...

C/C are welcome,
Raul

[Doug Brown]

You captured a nice pose here Raul! I'm going to try to rework it in PS and see if I have any luck.

[Doug Brown]

Here's a repost with a little cloning, some selective sharpening of the bird, lightening of the iris of the bird's left eye, and a slight color change of the sky. The composition is not conventional, in that normally you'd like more room on the left side of the frame, but I think it works here.

[Raul Quinones]

Hi Doug,
Only one eye, interesting I try to rework both eyes, and never was happy with the results, I can see now why.
Like the selective sharpening, especially on the birds back.

Thanks again, Raul

[Randy Stout]

Raul:

I love the talons on this guy, looks ready for action. I find the head placement tends to look like he has no neck, perhaps adds to the slightly awkward pose. I like Dougs rework. I wonder if a CW rotation would do anything for it? I know thats not the way it was, but I feel like I am crooked when I look at it.

Randy

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the takeoff pose and perch and would give it more room at the left.

[Fabs Forns]

Great pose, Raul, I don't like the merging with the branch. I'd eliminate the whole piece, leaving the diagonal intact.

Hope to see you soon :)

[Juan Aragonés]

Great image Raúl. Fantastic action and eye contact. I like the light a lot and the soft, almost white, BG too. I have two some suggestions: to fix the color noise in the black areas of the wings and perch and try to separate the left wing tip from the perch.
Very well done!

[Raul Quinones]

Thanks all for the comments

Juan, great PS work. I try to PS the separation between the branch and wing, but I was not able to make it look natural.

Saludos,
Raul

[Ramon M. Casares]

Fabs suggestion os a good idea, I like the pose and composition, the branch really adds a lot! Congratulations!