Sandpiper Preening

[denise ippolito]

Canon 40D
500mm +1.4 ex.
1/640 sec. at f/6.3
ISO 250
Tripod
Morning light

I added a slight embossed look to this. I liked the effect on the wavelet and the feathers. I masked most of it off the BG.
Conversion in Photoshop w/ a light Sepia filter

[Gus Cobos]

Very, very nice Lady Denise,
I like the effect, the head turn is lovely, I like the mood...well done...:cool:

[Michael Zajac]

Denise, Nice effect and I like the preening pose. Good low angle for capture. b&w conversion looks good.

[Ed Vatza]

Denise,

Nice bird image to begin with. I don't know what the bird board folks would say but I like the over the shoulder look. Actually, I like everything about this image except the thing you said you like and that is the embossed wavelet. It looks too artificial and as result, I keep staring at it rather than the bird.

[Christopher Miller]

Very nice, Denise. Great eye contact. The light sepia tone and embossed effect look good.

[denise ippolito]

Thanks guys for the feedback. I appreciate it.

[Chris Starbuck]

Denise,
It looks like you started with a really well-executed image - good pose, nicely arranged, clean BG. The embossing is clearly a matter of taste, but I like the effect in images with good texture (like this one). Good idea to mask off the effect in smooth areas too - otherwise it can introduce some odd-looking artifacts.

Try embossing a flower that has texture in the petals (if you haven't already) - I find the visual conflict/contradiction of making a soft flower petal look like sandstone to be interesting. Try blending the original color image with the embossed image using overlay, soft light, or color blending mode.

[denise ippolito]

Thanks Chris for the idea-I'll give it a try! Missed you around the forums!!:)