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Thread: Cozad Ranch Goal Achieved....

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Default Cozad Ranch Goal Achieved....

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    A late April/early Mmay visit to the Cozad Ranch in Linn, TX (http://www.cozadranch.com/) promised good opps for Painted Bunting. Chris and I worked hard on our morning set-up and yesterday it paid off handsomely.

    Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evalautive metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/13. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops with 14mm diffusion screen down.

    Don't be shy. All comments welcome. I am here to learn too.
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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Hey Artie, I'm sure I read you say somewhere that you don't normally like poses of the back of the bird (correct me if I'm wrong) but man this is the best vantage point to see the beautiful colours on this guy's back! You know when to use exceptions to your (and our) advantage...I guess it also helped that the body is slightly twisted sideways and the head angle perfect :-)

  3. #3
    Ákos Lumnitzer
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    Hey Artie,

    That's why you are the Maestro after all. I really love the eye contact but it is really those beautiful colors that simply leave me breathless. If anything, perhaps the perch is a little large for the feet, but its textures are very pleasing so I guess that leaves the "complaint" in the background of it all.

    Congrats! :)

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    Forum Participant Joe Senzatimore's Avatar
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    Hard work pays off. Congrats on one fine image. I really love this pose.

  5. #5
    Christopher C.M. Cooke
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    Canon 800mmm f/5.6L IS lens with the 1.4X II TC and the EOS-1D MIII. ISO 500. Evalautive metering +1/3 stop: 1/400 sec. at f/13. Fill flash with Better Beamer at -3 stops with 14mm diffusion screen down.
    Just what I would have used myself mate.:)

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Amazing colours captured here, and he's as colourful as a parrot. In South Africa, we call this the "south side" ( view from the back) and in most cases with any species, one gets to see a whole lot more than from the normal fly past or side pose. As Daniel said, perfect head angle. Congrats Artie, you nailed this one.

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    They are beautiful birds for sure, back view is pretty on them. Personally I would have went with a little thinner perch since it was a setup

    Lou

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    Tack sharp and great DOF! I might tone down the perch a small amount.

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    Hey Artie, that is a killer shot and congrats on mission completion. I was wondering if you could explain the use of the diffusion screen. I'm assuming fill was used mostly to help with shadows but was -3 still too much? Does the diffuser make it effectively -4(give or take)? Or am I way off? Haha thanks in advance and I hope the rest of the trip is as successful!

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    BPN Viewer Dave Leroy's Avatar
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    Very nice photo Artie. This is actually the first time I have had a good look at the eye of one of your photos. I appreciate how all the "parts" are there. Also interesting how you left the little knobby on the perch in the photo.
    Great looking bird. I like the soft colours; I suspect I would have had a tendency to over sat or make too bright. Dave

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    Hi Artie,

    I'm a big fan of painted buntings. Their colors are so intense! I love the catchlight, the head angle, the eye contact, and the beautiful background you've captured. I can't help but wonder whether less/no flash would have provided richer colors?

    Mike

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    Lifetime Member Doug Brown's Avatar
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    Beautiful bird! The backside view with the look-back pose works very well. The perch has a lot of character, and the BG is excellent. I played around with the image a little in CS4, and I might be tempted to take down the brightness a tad. I'd love to get a nice image of a male painted bunting someday!
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    It looks very nice, the back view of the bird is great and tghe vertical comp works very nice IMO, perch is also nice, BG, colors and detail are great. Congratulations Artie!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Hitchcox View Post
    Hey Artie, that is a killer shot and congrats on mission completion. I was wondering if you could explain the use of the diffusion screen. I'm assuming fill was used mostly to help with shadows but was -3 still too much? Does the diffuser make it effectively -4(give or take)? Or am I way off? Haha thanks in advance and I hope the rest of the trip is as successful!
    Thanks Doug, You are right on. When working with the beamer at close range the flash sometimes cannot turn off quickly enough to give you a true -3 so I lower the diffuser screen in front of the flash head so that just a hint of flash reaches the bird.

    Thanks for the good wishes. Do check the blog for the complete trip story and images: www.birdsasart-blog.com
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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Brown View Post
    Beautiful bird! The backside view with the look-back pose works very well. The perch has a lot of character, and the BG is excellent. I played around with the image a little in CS4, and I might be tempted to take down the brightness a tad. I'd love to get a nice image of a male painted bunting someday!
    Johnny Coazad's ranch in late April/early May is the place to be but you have got to be able to stand the heat!

    ps: would love to see your less bright version.
    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.

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  16. #16
    David Ornstein
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    Artie, the BG has an opalescence that makes it seem surreal. It might be my monitor. If it's in the photo, would you tone it down? If so, how? Thanks, David

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Hi David, Nothing obvious seen on this end. If I wanted to tone it down, I would reduce the SAT at least the YELLOW and the GREEN.
    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.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    ps: blowing in the wind mesquites make exquisite BKGRs.
    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.

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    Lifetime Member Jay Gould's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Thanks Doug, You are right on. When working with the beamer at close range the flash sometimes cannot turn off quickly enough to give you a true -3 so I lower the diffuser screen in front of the flash head so that just a hint of flash reaches the bird.

    Thanks for the good wishes. Do check the blog for the complete trip story and images: www.birdsasart-blog.com
    Hi Teach,

    Without going into the math, you had a lot of focal length between the 800/1.4/1.3 body. I thought I read somewhere that you had said the reach of the BB was 300mm! (?). I may/probably am saying this incorrectly.

    What was the distance from you to this incredible palette of colors?

    Love it!!

    Cheers, Jay

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    A great image!

    Lovely light, pose, colors and BG.

    My only suggestion is, in this case since the bird is a little small, using a thinner perch, at least that's what I would do.

    Other than that, a wonderful image. Ditto about the colors on its back, are really nice.






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  21. #21
    Don Anderson
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    The harder we work the luckier we get.. Very nice capture. On my calibrated monitor, its
    a tad light all around. Perch should be toned down a tad also. Very sharp image , 800mm and a 1.4x.
    Cool.

  22. #22
    Brian Wong
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    Hi Artie!

    What a handsome bird, and I really love your image design! There were some opinions expressed regarding the perch, but "it is what it is" ... and after all, the bird thought enough of it to land on it!
    However, just for enjoyment only, I wanted to practice & see what an alternative would look like ... and hope you don't mind this repost :confused:!!
    Sounds like you are having a really productive trip, and it is really nice to follow along with your new blog!

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    Great shot Artie, I also like Brian's re-post.
    It truly is a great-looking bird.

    A note on the Cozad Ranch, they should consider checking their emails more often, I wanted to book a day there during our April 10 - 18 trip but I never heard back from them.
    I suppose I should have phoned but I prefer to do all my reservations etc. online as it saves on long distance.
    Too bad, looks like it would have been fun.

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    This is just a superb image,the soft background providing an attractive canvas on which the gorgeous colors of this stunning bird are painted. Great pose showing the details. Beautifully exposed. You must be thrilled with this capture. I don't think altering the perch in post would be in my book, maybe a thought for next time.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Wong View Post
    Hi Artie! What a handsome bird, and I really love your image design! There were some opinions expressed regarding the perch, but "it is what it is" ... and after all, the bird thought enough of it to land on it! However, just for enjoyment only, I wanted to practice & see what an alternative would look like ... and hope you don't mind this repost :confused:!! Sounds like you are having a really productive trip, and it is really nice to follow along with your new blog!
    Thanks Brian. I thought that the blog would be less work than the Bulletin but I was wrong! I love the thinner perch--we went with thicker ones because of all the wind. Please let us know how you created the new perch.
    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.

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  26. #26
    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks to all above for commenting. After looking at today's posted Painted Bunting I realized that this image was too light (as many of you mentioned above), that it needed stronger yellows and more accurate blues with more CYAN and less MAGENTA.
    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.

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  27. #27
    Brian Wong
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Thanks Brian. I thought that the blog would be less work than the Bulletin but I was wrong! I love the thinner perch--we went with thicker ones because of all the wind. Please let us know how you created the new perch.
    Hi "Driving Ms Daisy" Artie! :) (... very endearing!)

    I was thinking of just duplicating the image ... move the top-of-the branch closer to the bottom-of-the branch and then blending in the center part of the branch. But the scale did not work out too well for this type of branch. Instead, I used the liquify tool ... mainly along the lower edge of the branch, and then cleaned it up with some cloning.
    I am so glad that you didn't mind repost ... I just wanted to see an example of what people were talking about, and I am sorry if I offended anyone.
    Last edited by Brian Wong; 05-03-2009 at 06:54 PM.

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