Sun Dragon

[Mike Fuhr]

I took this pic a few weeks ago while in South Carolina. It was actually in the shade with a bright background (sun lit leaves and pine needles) so I utilized fill flash, something I rarely do -- I usually don't like the result. They, to me., often look unnatural. In any case, I really like the result here, the way the colors popped. One thing I don't like is the perch as it is a bit over-exposed. Anyway, comments welcome...

Nikon D300
100-300 F/4
1/250
F/9
ISO 800
fill flash
on tripod
minor crop and sharpening added

[Randy Stout]

Mike:

Your dragon is great, with lovely colors in eyes and abdomen.

I agree about the perch being a bit hot, and for me, I would really try to tone down the bright spots in the background a bit, so they don't compete with the subject.

Fill flash can be a life saver when used thoughtfully.

Cheers

Randy

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Mike. Randy covered my thoughts perfectly. :)

[Fabs Forns]

Agree that toning the highlight could do wonders for an already pretty image :)

[Julie Kenward]

Mike, this is really beautiful! I share your sentiment for fill flash but sometimes it really does the trick. I balanced out the light and dark spots in the image using the eye dropper to grab a medium brown tone in the BG and then using a soft brush at 65% opacity to smooth over the lighter spots. I then switched over to the clone stamp set at "lighten" and 30% opacity, put the source in the lighter areas and cloned over the darker spots. I also toned down the perch just a bit. Lastly, I changed your comp just a bit, taking a little off the bottom and right side and twisting the frame so the tail shoots up towards the right top corner of the frame. See if you like this...

[Desmond Chan]

Other than as mentioned, I think this could also work in a vertical crop. Perhaps some sharpening, too?

[Mike Fuhr]

Jules -- that looks great!!! I wish I had the PS skills to do that kind of stuff. Thanks for taking the time to work on it like that. I really appreciate it. :)

[Jay Gould]

Julie's RP is #1 in my books!!