Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo)

[Rob McEwen]

Hello all,

this is my first post - please be gentle with me :o I'm a bit of a novice when to comes to the 'digital darkroom' and Photoshop (I'm using ACR and CS3). I've read loads of fantastically-useful tips and tutorials on BPN and it's been a fantastic help but I'd be grateful for your advice specific on to how to deal with one of my images please.
I'd be grateful for your help and advice with my image of a Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo).

Apologies for those who know but I'm not sure that the hobby is found in the Americas (Wikipedia entry). They're the size of a kestrel and are like the smaller, more hyperactive sibling of peregrines :) They hunt flying insects (butterflies and dragonflies) which they eat on the wing and, later on in the breeding season, move onto hunting hirudines. They hunt and catch swifts on the wing which demonstrates how aerobatic and spectacular they are! They're an amazing bird to watch if you ever get the chance.

My image was taken on a very sunny day (we get them occasionally in the UK ;)) with harsh light and the bird took me by surprise (tech details ISO 200, 1/2000th, F8, manual) so it wasn't an ideal situation. They move so fast you don't get much warning ! :)





I've adjusted the image using levels and curves layers in CS3. I've also used an exposure layer and mask to try to reduce the hotspots whilst maintaining the shadows and contrast in the bird's underbelly and under-wings. Unfortunately the sky now looks washed-out to me as it was a very deep blue when taken. I've tried (not on the shot posted) using a layer mask to add back the original sky but I'm not sure if I've done so correctly as the bird looks very false with an embossed effect.
So, since I've found this mix of adjusting highlights and shadows quite a challenge, I'd be very grateful for your advice on how to reduce the hotspots while getting some contrast and bringing out some detail in the underwing.

The 'original' image may be seen HERE - I'm not sure if my conversion in ACR also needs to be revisited.

Any advice on how you'd get the most out of this capture would be a massive help and greatly appreciated.
I look forward to your feedback and advice.

Thanks,
Rob

[Harold Davis]

rob, big welcome to BPN!!!! i took a look at the original and all i can say is if you got this out of that, you know what you are doing!!! please post Exposure Compensation next time so we can help you better, but this is a tough bird to expose in harsh light. to expose for the darks will blow out the whites. need soft light. looking at the original, i'd guess you were at -0.7EV or more. you needed to be at +0.7 with this bird.

i dont know if we have those birds here in the states, i have never seen one. thanks for sharing and keep them coming.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hello Rob and big warm welcome to the BPN flock! We will be gentle here as advertised! You will find that you will learn very quickly at BPN and we look forward to seeing many more posts!!

The harsh sun from above (or anywhere else for that matter) is always going to be a nemesis! The colors in the original are much more natural and I think they got lost in the effort to bring out the shadow detail. You did do a good job in that respect and this would be a stronger image if you were to get back to those colors. Very cool bird and nice action capture! You didn't say what camera and lens but your flight capture technique is working big time!! Not easy at all...

Keep them coming!!!

[Ron Boisvert]

Hello Rob, A HUGE welcome to BPN!!! For gentle feedback, you've come to the right place. I love the action of the hobby working over something in its grasp. Do you know what it is?

I do have to agree with Harold. I think you've done a heck of a job given the original image. This image is testament to just how much detail is actually in the raw captures. I think you've done a lot with it. As for the blue sky, unless you mean that it actually looked a lot darker to your eyes, perhaps your brightening of the bird also lightened the sky. Have you experimented with the Shadow/Highlight function in PS to control your highlights and shadows? I find it a great tool.

Looking at the Histogram, you have clipped pixels on both ends. If it were me, I would go back to ACR to bring all the tones back in play. Keep in mind that given the underexposure in the original, you've set yourself a hard task here. I think that trying to process an image this much underexposed raises havoc with the color balance too. Perhaps a more experienced person can weigh in on that.

I hope you don't mind me reposting your image. I spotted a color cast in the image and have tried to neutralize it so it will be more obvious. It is only offered for comparison. I really think you would have a lot more control over this image in ACR. I had to make huge adjustments to the colors to get it to this point. I also used Shadow/Highlight, ran a round of sharpening, and selectively sharpened the eye. I hope this helps.

This is a great first submission, and welcome again to the group.

my 2 cents,

[Lance Peters]

Hi Ron - another big warm welcome to the BPN Family - nice first post.

All good advice above - harsh light is always going to be a issue -original is a far bit under - So I would have a look at how to interpret your histogram and turn on your over exposure blinkies.
There is a wealth of exposure info in the educational resources forum.

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Ron,
A big warm welcome to the BPN family....I like your capture...the image is a tad under exposed...I like the feather details...very good advise given...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[Rob McEwen]

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments and welcomes - it's great of you to take the time to reply.:)

Harold, Kerry (and all): apologies for not posting more technical details :o. I was at +1.0 EV for this shot using a D90 with 200-400 lens at 400mm, hand-held.

Ron: No problem with the repost - glad you took the time to play with it. I hadn't noticed the colour cast - how do you spot it and how did you neutralize it ? I think the bird was eating a moth of some sort.
So I guess you're saying I should go back to ACR and try to reconvert and I might be able to get more out of the image? Do you have any pointers to how to selectively sharpen as you did for the eye please ?

Lance: I always use the histogram and watch out for the blinkies but in this case with the bird I didn't get chance - everything happened very quickly and it was gone...

Can anyone tell me, or point me towards a tutorial, on the best way to replace the sky i.e. how to select the bird cleanly and paste it on a new layer ?

Thanks for your help,
Rob

[Ron Boisvert]

Hi Rob,
First, a caveat: I am very new to digital imaging and processing, and am not the best resource for you, but, since I stuck my neck out and posted the repost, I'll offer what I can to help.

I spotted your color cast by looking at areas that should be neutral, like the white and black feathers. It was obvious to me that your whites were yellow, first by looking at them, and second by running the color sampler over those areas while studying the RGB values in the Info palette. I've spent the last few weeks trying to find a fool-proof method for detecting a color cast in the first place. I've come to the conclusion that there isn't one cut and dry solution, for many reasons. You will gather that from reading the attached threads.

I don't think I can give you an adequate answer at this point, as there are several approaches to this issue, and I'm still sorting this out myself. However, if you review the links I've given you, do a Google search on "color cast", and review some of the approaches, I believe you will go a long way toward understanding the various issues here, and how to address them. Keep in mind that one person's color cast may be another person's perfection.:) You may gather that from studying the links below.

Once you have decided what color the color cast is, you need to counter it by adding it's complementary color. In your case, I used a Color Balance adjustment layer to add primarily blue, and remove red and green on the whole image. Then, on a layer of just the sky, I added red and removed green. Again, I'm new to this, and perhaps there is a better and more effective approach. See Al's recommendation for iCorrect EditLab Pro (a PS plug-in) in one of the links.

I would definitely use ACR to work on this image as much as possible before going to PS. My understanding is that correcting an image with your raw converter gives you the best result when making adjustments like those required here.

Try these links for starters:

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ead.php?t=7752

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=39014

http://www.birdphotographers.net/for...ad.php?t=41958

As for selectively sharpening the eye, I selected the the area right around eye with the lasso tool, and ran an unsharp mask on it (I think it was 100%, 0.5, 0) before sharpening the whole image.

I hope this helps,

[Alfred Forns]

Big Warm Welcome Rob Great advice and fully agree !!!! Sorry I'm late for the party !!!

About the only advice I can add is the exposure Not sure how the bird came out that dark with +1 Do you remember what you were metering on? That should have been about right unless the bird is totally backlit .. in which case the sky will turn out sort of white looking just about every time !!! Also don't be afraid to add a converter to your lens ... will be much better than a heavy crop !!! Neat image and looking forward to more !!!

[Mark Fuge]

Congrats and welcome. Love the image, especially considering the source. Good work, I think you can teach some of us! ;)

[Rob McEwen]

Ron: many thanks for the tips and the links - they're very helpful :)

Mark and Alfred: thanks for the comments and feedback.

I'll have another got at this image in ACR and re-post once I've had a play.

Thanks everyone !:)