From Entre Rios Province, northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, November, 2008. A fair amount of post processing on this one with some sharpening (too much?) and my first real attempt at cloning a branch out. As always, suggestions welcome.
Nikon D300
Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR
Nikon TC1.7e ii Teleconverter
f4.8
1/1600
ISO 320
Shutter Priority
Exp. Comp -0.7 EV
Center-weighted metering
Hi Ted - exposure looks good, not sure about your use of centre weighted metering, I usually would use Matrix.
Like the pose and the head angle, not sure that the point of focus was on the head/eye!
When removing branches etc you need to be mindful of other area's as well, Can see that you have chopped the branch off a little way down the bird - but the shadow from the branch still appears to be from the whole branch.
Quick masks will help you get to grips with removing things - Robert O'toole has a instructional CD available from Arties website - great value and easy to follow.
Looking forward to seeing more.
Hi Ted,
I like the capture...you were dealing with harsh light coming from the eight o'clock position, thus the shadow cast from the branch on the birds body...I agree with Mr. Peters' assessment...I would also clone out the solitary vertical branch to the left of the bird, it's distracting...in addition you might want to lighten the area around the eye just a tad...the shadow cast from the branch could be eliminated by adding texture to that area...looking forward to your next one...good show...:cool:
Two strong points being the metering mode and focus point placement on the bird !!! ...btw one other point might want to lower the saturation of the yellow channel just a few points.
Ted, That's one colorful bird! Agree with the suggestions already given and would add that you might want to consider cropping from the left just to the right of the left-hand branch. Just think that might look better with the bird's pose.
Saffron-cowled Blackbird
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