One from yesterday - SOC - No post processing at all - straight out of the camera - no sharpening - think the dust bunnies are there still :) no cropping no nothing..
D3
Nikon 300mm F2.8 with 1.7 X converter
F5.6
1/40 th
+0.3EV
1600 ISO
Matrix Metering
SB 900
Manual Flash @ 1/16th
Was quite a dark overcast day - was also using flash although curiously the metadata for this one says no flash. (Flash must not have fired on this frame)
I did increase the ISO to 3200 not long after this shot.
I'm sure there're better ways and ideas out there. But, here's what I've done:
Cropped to take away some empty space (I think it also worked with a vertical crop though). I'm assuming the bird has largely black and white feathers. So, tried to white balance and still found both the white and the dark not neutral. Then decided to convert the whole image into black & white and brushed back the colors exact that of the black and white feathers. Enhanced and darkened the perch a bit some a bit of the background. After that it was just sharpening mainly.
I've learned the idea of converting to b&w to get the result I want from one of Scott Kelby's books.
Last edited by Desmond Chan; 08-30-2009 at 02:02 AM.
Btw there could be a circumstance that will a beautiful perch you would have the crop the other way ... bird facing out or the frame and entire perch behind. Can think of one in specific, a puffin standing on a rock with lichen/moss and just had to be included.
Hi Mr. Peters,
This is one sweet image, you have razor sharp details with very good color rendition, a good head angle and crystal clear sharp eye. Composition wise, its difficult to cut you beautiful perch apart...what I would do is crop into a tighter pano, leaving your subject just the way he is in frame and taking from the top, from the right side just a little and very little from the bottom...I really like this, congrats...:):cool:
I wasn't all that carried away with the perch, so I opted to crop most of that out and dim the bright background -- which, to my eye, is competing with his bright little highness, the bird.
Last edited by David Thomasson; 08-30-2009 at 11:42 AM.
Nice work Desmond and David - Noy sure about the perch myself yet - It is a natural perch just happened to be there and the swallows and this guy just seem to love it.
Lovely shot Lance. Really like Desmonds idea about converting to B and W and then erasing the colour back in. BG is killer. I would crop but a little less than in the reposts.
Hi Lance,
For me, David's repost takes your excellent capture and puts it over the top!! His composition and treatment is most pleasing to my eye. The noise from 1600 ISO is pretty good too. Thanks for posting this image. I like it!
SOC - How would you PP.
