I liked this shot because the bird looks stately on his perch. There are so many birds around right now, so I will save much of my posting until the summer heat kicks in and I can take refuge at my computer. Now if it would just stop raining. :)
Canon 1D MK III
Canon 500mm f/4 with 1.4 TC
ISO 320 1/800 @ f/7.1
Manual-pattern meter
7:10am, sunny, no wind
Very nice and attentive pose. I see two problems here. First, the yellows are hot, as shown in the histogram by the clipped red channel. And the bird should be placed lower in the frame since it is looking up.
You should check this thread about yellows:
In addition to moving it lower I would also move it right a bit. You are right about the stately posture, I like it too. Toning down a few of the lighter leaves near the head would be a good option too. Can't wait to see more of what you have in store for us when you do take refuge at the computer :-)
Thanks for the constructive comments. I went back to LR2 to look at my histogram and it shows no highlights at all making it to the right side. I am still learning LR2, so I need to export the photo into another program to see that channel. I thought the yellows looked hot, but I am just following what my histogram said. Kind of frustrating, but at least it's easy to fix.
A very striking yellow captured here Bryan. Im going with Daniel regarding the placement in the comp, and would like to see you tone the yellows down a tad.
I tried to correct the red channel in PSE 7 because I can't figure out how to adjust RGB channels in LR2 (maybe it's not possible, but why would the cheap program allow it, but not the $300 one??). Thanks for the comments anyway.
Hi Bryan You can make the adjustment in LR
Can use the box under tone curve You got 3 choices HSL/Color/Greyscale Chose color and select the first box. It will alter the red.
The easier way is to do so in PS not in LR. Not only yellow but reds are over saturated and need adjusting!!! PM if you need help !!!
Does it look like the yellow is toned down now? I followed Alfred's direction and I think I got it worked out? Crop might be a bit tight now. Thanks Alfred!