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Thread: Thinking

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    This is one of those cute birds that you can find in our costa rican wet forests.
    This one is the female, the male is even more striking.

    Canon 30D
    Canon 35-350@320mm
    ISO 200
    AV
    f/5.6
    1/20sec.
    Tripod
    0 exp. comp.

    I hope this is not too sharpened since I have been having problems as to how to sharpen without adding too much or too little.

    Advise is very welcome as always and thanks for your time and help.:)

    (Red-headed Barbet)

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Hi Juan. Too bad our paths didn't cross when I was in Costa Rica. Never had the good fortune to see one of these birds. It doesn't look oversharpened. I think it would have benefited from a faster shutter speed (ISO 400 or 640) as there appears to be motion blur in the head. Also the edges of the perch look a little funny, kind of like you selected the perch and then did some work on the BG. Thanks for posting!
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    Terrrific species and lobely light and pose, Bg is nice althought I think I see some little motion blur on the head. Still, very nice. Congratulations!

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    I do not see any motion blur in the head but I am old. For me, this is an exquisite image. The pose is perfect, the perch is nice, the EXP and COMP right on. And the bird is gorgeous.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
    Hi Juan. Too bad our paths didn't cross when I was in Costa Rica. Never had the good fortune to see one of these birds. It doesn't look oversharpened. I think it would have benefited from a faster shutter speed (ISO 400 or 640) as there appears to be motion blur in the head. Also the edges of the perch look a little funny, kind of like you selected the perch and then did some work on the BG. Thanks for posting!
    You are right Doug, it's a shame we could not meet while you were here.

    Yes, the perch looks weird. I almost don't upload this image since I was thinking that the perch was going to look fake or something. Have a second look at that, the perch is not parallel to the sensor, that's why it looks like that, especially after selecting the BG.

    Thanks for your advise about using a higher ISO, I just like to get my images with the less noise possible, but not so easy by now.

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    I decided that I like this image so much that I did some work on it. First off, after enlarging it I see zero evidence of motion blur to the head. I selectively sharpened the head with a contrast mask and then lightened it as it was a bit dark in the ORIG post.

    Question: It appears that you removed a bunch of stuff from the BKGR near the branch. Let me know if I am correct and then I will tell you how I knew and how you could have done it better. It's not what you think...

    Again, for me, a truly great image.

    ps: I also did some eye doctor work and it appears as if I could have lightened the head a bit more....
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    I don not intend to start another discusion about if it has or not some motion blurr, I can only comment on what I see and wait for the photographer to correct me if happend to be mistaken, IMHO, I don't see the same sharpness in the head and shoulders than the one in the primary feathers and tail wich looks perfectly sharp.

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    You say that you do not want to start another discussion but you feel the need to re-state what you already said... Curious indeed. I am not saying that the tail is not sharper than the face, I just said that I saw no evidence at all of motion blur. Focus on the near-wing might be the cause. As I have told you before, when I disagree with what you say, I will let you know.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ramon M. Casares View Post
    I don not intend to start another discusion about if it has or not some motion blurr, I can only comment on what I see and wait for the photographer to correct me if happend to be mistaken, IMHO, I don't see the same sharpness in the head and shoulders than the one in the primary feathers and tail wich looks perfectly sharp.
    Thank you so much Ramon for your kind comments and time.

    I was helping my son with his homework while you guys where writing.

    I agree that it may seem that there's some motion blur on the head, but I guess is just that since I went wide open (5.6), I guess that I needed more DOF.

    Thanks once again for your observation. jc

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    I decided that I like this image so much that I did some work on it. First off, after enlarging it I see zero evidence of motion blur to the head. I selectively sharpened the head with a contrast mask and then lightened it as it was a bit dark in the ORIG post.

    Question: It appears that you removed a bunch of stuff from the BKGR near the branch. Let me know if I am correct and then I will tell you how I knew and how you could have done it better. It's not what you think...

    Again, for me, a truly great image.

    ps: I also did some eye doctor work and it appears as if I could have lightened the head a bit more....
    I decided that I like this image so much that I did some work on it.

    Thank you sir, your words are very encouraging!

    I selectively sharpened the head with a contrast mask and then lightened it as it was a bit dark in the ORIG post.

    That's very kind of your part, I know you are a busy man!

    Question: It appears that you removed a bunch of stuff from the BKGR near the branch. Let me know if I am correct and then I will tell you how I knew and how you could have done it better. It's not what you think...

    Well, I am attaching the original, untouched jpeg out of the RAW in case you want to check it. I think that the BG was half lit and that's why it has that estrange look. I made a huge mistake by going so low with the ISO, but guess what? I am learning out of my mistakes!

    Thank you so much for all your help and advise.:)

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    Juan -
    Very nice photo - will wait for you to show us the even more spectacular male. I've only ever gotten them on feeders.

    A quick tip - if you mask the bird & branch and then run FILTER BLUR (lens or gaussian) , it can really help soften bright circular highlights in BG

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    Juan Carlos, nice job to get a good image of this chica. I like the original better in terms of composition as the original post is a bit tight in my opinion. What you did in terms of contrast and saturation in your post really helped. I like the background a lot -- those circular blurs are great for rainforest wildlife in my eyes. I like Arthur's repost a lot in terms of the sharpness. I think lack of DOF was the culprit here, probably due, as you said, to the ISO you selected. I also think a bit of fill flash (say -2 to -3) might have helped add a bit of pop to the RAW file. But all in all, congrats on a nice image.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Juan Carlos Vindas View Post
    Thank you so much Ramon for your kind comments and time.

    I was helping my son with his homework while you guys where writing.

    I agree that it may seem that there's some motion blur on the head, but I guess is just that since I went wide open (5.6), I guess that I needed more DOF.

    Thanks once again for your observation. jc
    Thank you Juan for letting me know what the issue was, probably what I thought was motion blur was some softness due to the fact that the main focus is on the birds back. Still, great image!

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    Hi JC, I will try again: you mentioned earlier in the thread that you selected the BKGR. How did you do that? Did you feahter it? What did you do to the BKGR once it was selected?
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    OK Arthur!

    It sounds like I am going to learn something and I like it.

    I duplicated the layer, then I selected the BG using the magic wand and when the bird was selected I deleted it. I don't know too much about feathering, so I just go to Feather and use may be 3-5 pixels, now, I want to estate right here that I do this since I red it some where in the web but I don't really know how to get the best out of this tool.

    Now, the other day you were talking about ''Refine Edge'', it sounds like a nice tool, now this is my question: what software do you use to enhance your images? is that PS? if so, what version do you use? CS3, CS4?

    Ok, but going back to the BG, once it's selected I can start playing with curves, light, noise reduction, blur, and so on. Then I select inverse and start playing with the subjec, but I do this on the other layer, let's call it Background.

    Is this the right way to do it? Is there any other better way to do this?

    I bought your Digital Basics and honestly I haven't have enogh time to read it the way it deserves.

    My ears are open!

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    Great comp, and lovely pose. I like the colours, and Artie did a great job touching up the head.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Juan Carlos Vindas View Post
    OK Arthur!

    It sounds like I am going to learn something and I like it.

    I duplicated the layer, then I selected the BG using the magic wand and when the bird was selected I deleted it. I don't know too much about feathering, so I just go to Feather and use may be 3-5 pixels, now, I want to estate right here that I do this since I red it some where in the web but I don't really know how to get the best out of this tool.

    Now, the other day you were talking about ''Refine Edge'', it sounds like a nice tool, now this is my question: what software do you use to enhance your images? is that PS? if so, what version do you use? CS3, CS4?

    Ok, but going back to the BG, once it's selected I can start playing with curves, light, noise reduction, blur, and so on. Then I select inverse and start playing with the subjec, but I do this on the other layer, let's call it Background.

    Is this the right way to do it? Is there any other better way to do this?

    I bought your Digital Basics and honestly I haven't have enogh time to read it the way it deserves.

    My ears are open!
    Hi JC, You are a smart student. You know the answer before I give it. The branch in your original post looks as if you used a cookie cutter on it (as compared to the original). If you use refine edge as described in the last update of Digital Basics (I use CS# BYW), you will rarely have a similar problem. If you do, simply increase the amount of feathering in the Refine Edge window and start again. And do find some time to study DB, especially the updates as you seem to have the basics down pretty good. After seeing the ORIG, I would suggest a bit of a looser crop.
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    Another question: were you using One-Shot or AI Servo AF? (I will assume that you were using the central sensor.)
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  19. #19
    Nate Chappell
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    Beautiful bird well captured Juan. I probably would have gone to a higher iso with that little light to work with, this is super at 1/20.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Hi JC, You are a smart student. You know the answer before I give it. The branch in your original post looks as if you used a cookie cutter on it (as compared to the original). If you use refine edge as described in the last update of Digital Basics (I use CS# BYW), you will rarely have a similar problem. If you do, simply increase the amount of feathering in the Refine Edge window and start again. And do find some time to study DB, especially the updates as you seem to have the basics down pretty good. After seeing the ORIG, I would suggest a bit of a looser crop.
    Hello Arthur and thanks so much for all your help and advise.

    1- Just to start I will say that it sounds like it is good to use the central sensor, is that what most professional photographers do?

    2- What does BYW means?

    3- I uploaded the picture to the flash card to see it on the camera since I could not do it when I open it in PS, I mean in RAW before start working on the picture. Is there a way you can see more info about any given picture when you open it in RAW?

    Now, I don't remember if I used One Shot or Al Servo, but one thing I am sure of, and it's that I didn't use central censor and I did not focused on the eye.:confused:

    It sounds like that's not the right way to do it.:confused:

    I hope I am not asking too much!:D

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    Very interesting thread Juan Carlos and, of course, a superb image that I really love. I am not going to add anything great to this thread but just wanted to say that I totally agree with Greg regarding the circular blurs because they areally typical under canopy of the rainforest. The RAW file is fantastic and makes me think about a different composition, croping a bit at the top and at the left and keeping the bird in the left upper corner with more room at the right. Excelente trabajo Juan Carlos, tus fotos mejoran cada vez más :-)

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