This image is from August when we discovered a very accessible nest. The male had caught a fish and spent about an hour eating the head and preparing it for the female and the 2 young ospreys. When he decided to bring the fish in, it was a quick flight. I was lucky to get this image just before he landed on the nest. C&C welcome.
Techs: Nikon D300, f8, 1/1600s, Ec +.3, ISO 640, Nikkor 80-400mm @370, tripod with sidekick.
Nice shot, sharp, good exposure, wing postion. Still learning myself about head angle, I wonder what will be said in that regard? I like it myself.
I do see a broad halo around the bird, the sort I often see when using highligh/shadow. The sky has an odd color on my monitor, what I call buttermilk sky.
I see the halo Ben is talking about. Light is a little harsh but you must have been happy to witness the scene and capture it. The osprey looks very focused and ready to land alright. A little more head-on and your wing spread would have looked really really awesome! Still fine though as is. :)
Ben: I see that halo and it occurred when I downsized to post. It's not in the original photoshop document. I'm not sure of just what caused it because I didn't use the shadow/highlight to adjust, just some levels and curves. I selected and lightened the eye.
Akos -- a step to the left and I'd have been in the water. The platform is off private property on the waterfront. It's approachable from a public pier but you have to take what you can get. I actually like the idea that he was very focused on his family.
I like the wing position, sharpness and the fish adds to it. I would tone down the highlights a bit more. There seems to be a S/H halo around the wing tips.
Love that 'bringing home the bacon' pose. I agree about the halo, and would also lighten the iris a bit. Regarding the halo, did you use a quick mask for anything?
Doug: I selected the eye and used a mask to lighten the eye, but that was all I did other than curves and levels. The halo seems to have shown up when I converted to jpg. I guess I'll have to go back to the raw image and start over. I processed this a few months ago and I probably can do better now.
Don't give up on this Image Linda. This has all the ingredienets of a great shot. This forum is like finisihing school. I am fairly new to posting here myself, and am always surprised at the fine points folks find that can be improved. But it all helps. If you decide to reprocess, I would like to see the results and also find out what caused the halos. We can all learn.
I decided to rework this image starting from the RAW image. I cropped, used levels and curves, selected the eye and lightened it. Then converted to jpg, selected the sky, inverted and sharpened the bird.
Thank you everyone for your comments and help in improving my image! I'm much happier with this one.
Feeding the Family
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