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Thread: Skimmer In Heaven...

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    Skimmer In Heaven...

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    Hi All!
    Another one from last week's trip to Nickerson with Artie. As the title suggests I was once again going for the 'bird in heaven' look...
    50D 500 f/4 + 1.4TC
    ISO 400
    F5.6
    Exp comp +1
    1/2000 sec
    By the way the feather was there but it was right under his tail so I took the liberty of moving it - some of you may not like that I did this and I have never done it before - just thought that that I would try it as a technical exercise but quite liked the result!
    Look forward to your c & c's.
    Best regards to all,
    Nicki

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    Hey Nicki

    It was nice meeting you.. Hope you enjoyed the NWPLI meeting also. I like what you have done here. Not sure the other feather adds ?? Nice detail in the blacks.

    Cheers,
    lou

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    Nicki, Beautiful soft BG and a great open mouth pose. Maybe a 2 pixel border around the image just for BPN viewing so we can see where it ends at the bottom a bit more clearly. I like what you did w/ the feather but I would put it to the right a bit more. I can always tell one of your images-you have such a nice artistic eye. Lovely image!!
    Last edited by denise ippolito; 08-28-2009 at 11:33 AM.

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    Hi Lou and Denise!
    Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions. Lou, I left the feather in the picture as that was what made it stand out from a load of other similar ones! Denise, good advice about the border - how do you do this??:o:eek:
    Thanks!
    Best,
    Nicki

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hey Nicki, is this what heaven looks like ;). I like the calling pose, and the softer colours in the top half of the BG. I would remove the feather.

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    Nice effect and love the blue at the top!
    The open bill is a plus.
    Would like to see more detail in the whites.


    Quote Originally Posted by Nicki Gwynn Jones View Post
    Hi Lou and Denise!
    Denise, good advice about the border - how do you do this??:o:eek:
    There are many ways to do this but one way to get just a simple outline is to use :

    Image-> Canvas Size
    Set units to pixels, check the Relative box, enter 4 for height and width, and
    set Canvas extension color to Black.
    This will give you a 2 pixel black border all around.
    You can adjust width and color as desired.

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    Nice shot Nicki. Another vote for removal of the feather if ethics permit. With Mike on the whites.

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    Hi Stuart, Mike and David,
    Thank you for your comments and Mike, thanks for the info!!
    Best,
    Nicki

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    Great meeting you in person. Love what you have done here. I am also with the feather removal crowd.
    Dreamy ethereal quality is apparent.
    Hope to see you again next year.
    Last edited by Ted Scalzo; 08-28-2009 at 05:51 PM. Reason: spelling

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    I like what you were trying to achieve here, and it mostly works. I would have loved it if the legs were a little prominent - enough to see the orange colour as that would have played off nicely with the bill. Another vote for feather elimination :-) I would say your self imposed technical exercise worked well!

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    Good comments from above. I would add that the image looks a little contrasty, with some of the whites looking hot. The blacks are also blocked near the end of the wing.

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    wonderful image , loved the pose , another vote for feather removal
    TFS

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    Hi Nicki: I like this one as well. I like your previous post more than this one. Maybe it is just me, but I see a sharpening halo on the birds back and neck

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    Guys, thanks so much for all the comments- I guess that it's a big vote for feather removal :D I might have overdone the contrast a little and Keith, I wil check the sharpening on my big screen - the tiff file seems OK.
    Best to all,
    Nicki
    Last edited by Nicki Gwynn Jones; 08-29-2009 at 05:13 AM. Reason: spelling...

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    Hey, Nicki. I think you've received some good advice on this one. Since you already moved the feather, I agree that it might be best just to get rid of it altogether. I really like the thinking on this shot and personally, I am not bothered by the high contrast, which I think goes with the spirit of what you were trying to capture.

    Cheers,
    Greg Basco

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    The feather adds very few to the image in my opinion. Love your idea of getting a high key image with such a low angle. Another vote for reprocessing the whites in the bird to add more details and I like what Denisse suggested about a black border. In my opinion, the composition is a bit thight at the bottom. Well done!

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    I like the image and the feather. And I love the light blue BKGR. As presented, there are lots of hot pixels in the JPEG. Surprisingly they are around the edges of the subject plus all the orange in the bill (not in the seemingly bright white breast).

    Probably best to start from scratch. Adding a 12% CYAN photo filter or adding cyan to the reds in Selective Color will protect the orange bill. IAC, the whites on the breast need more detail.
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    Thanks guys - appreciate the feedback!

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