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Thread: Golden Crane Sipping

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Default Golden Crane Sipping

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    This image was created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens and the EOS-7D. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2 stops: 1/125 sec. at f/5.6. White balance 9,000K.

    Harry's Crane Pool, Bosque del Apache NWR, NM.

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    :) I really like this one, Artie.
    Very nice to get a "single" bird in sillouette.
    Nice low angle and the little dribble of water ties this image together for me. I think I might like it even better if the
    top reddish line was less prominent.

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    BPN Member Steve Maxson's Avatar
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    Very colorful, Artie. The open beak and the water droplets really add to an already interesting pose.

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    Artie...

    I always like sillouehetts.

    Theresi something a little funky going on between the brighter water and the darker orange area transitions above and to the right ofthe head. Doesn't show up as a smooth transition?

    Also. really nit picking, perhaps a clone to remove what looks like a splash on the far right? (could be plant material)

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    Thanks for the suggestions Jim. Not sure how I created or missed that ugly transition....
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    Artie...

    I'm always amazed at what others eyes pick up in my stuff, no matter how long I stare at it before posting :)

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    Interesting image. Parts that I like -- Strong silhouette, position of the crane, open beak and the water drip from the beak.

    The image feels over saturated to me. I see your WB was at 9000K. I played a bit by opening this in raw and decreasing the color temp. It feels more natural to me that way. I also see a bit of a halo around the cranes body. I'm guessing the funky artifacts noted by Jim are just a result of jpeg compression.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Bauer View Post
    Interesting image. Parts that I like -- Strong silhouette, position of the crane, open beak and the water drip from the beak. The image feels over saturated to me. I see your WB was at 9000K. I played a bit by opening this in raw and decreasing the color temp. It feels more natural to me that way. I also see a bit of a halo around the cranes body. I'm guessing the funky artifacts noted by Jim are just a result of jpeg compression.
    Yeah, the SAT is a personal choice. I actually lightened it and de-SAted a bit before saving. I would love to see your version. Are you seeing artifacts in the original or the repost.

    The ugly transition stuff was actually in the optimized TIFF. I must have been in a drunken stupor but I do not drink....
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Fenton View Post
    Artie... I'm always amazed at what others eyes pick up in my stuff, no matter how long I stare at it before posting :)
    Not me. I am forever saying that I do not have a good eye for fine detail and folks are forever not believing me but it is true. I have a good eye for color and shape and form and composition but not for fine detail.
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    "Color, shape and form" define the beauty of this photograph, Artie.

    Your repost takes it to spectacular heights.
    Bill Jobes



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    Golden colors are too good here Guruji , lovely image and repost takes this over the top
    TFS

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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Yeah, the SAT is a personal choice. I actually lightened it and de-SAted a bit before saving. I would love to see your version. Are you seeing artifacts in the original or the repost.
    Absolutely agree.. SAT is a personal choice. The artifacts were in the original. Repost solves that issue. Here's my version with a bit of red and yellow desaturated. Always interesting to see the vision of others.

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    Thanks Keith. I actually prefer yours; it looks more natural.

    And thanks Bill. And Harshad.
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    The repost looks good. It is a personal choice, so either way but the colors are gorgeous. Artie I like the open bill and water drops.

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    Awesome image...the contrast between the crane & BG adds a lot of impact...interesting reflection too!

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    Ofer Levy
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    I like the pose and composition. However, shooting at K9000 basically gives an un-naturaly warm effect. I assume the colours in reality weren't so rich and saturated. It would be interesting to hear what people think about creating this over-saturation effect - does this belong to the 'digital creation' department or maybe 100% nature photography....?

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    david cramer
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    Of all the ones presented I prefer Artie's repost in #5. Colors are strong and make a statement without looking harsh and therefore don't overpower the bird. Nice vision.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    I like the pose and composition. However, shooting at K9000 basically gives an un-naturaly warm effect. I assume the colours in reality weren't so rich and saturated. It would be interesting to hear what people think about creating this over-saturation effect - does this belong to the 'digital creation' department or maybe 100% nature photography....?
    Personally I'd call this fine art photography, not documentary photography.

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    I am a big fan of higher saturation..really like the first one, like the top reddish line and the same reddish color around the shadow...Artful...:)

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    Your repost works well guru.. loved the water droplets from the beak..

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    superb repost very well done.
    i would still try 1 round of NR to give smoothen the bg's noise over red and yellow.

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    Stunning lighting and great timing to catch the water droplets as the crane lifts its bill from the water. Super repost Artie. Already a favourite.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    I like the pose and composition. However, shooting at K9000 basically gives an un-naturaly warm effect. I assume the colours in reality weren't so rich and saturated. It would be interesting to hear what people think about creating this over-saturation effect - does this belong to the 'digital creation' department or maybe 100% nature photography....?
    Interesting point. How often does our optimized image match the colors and light that existed at the moment of capture? Rarely. And after that, it is just a matter of degree so who makes the call? It's like cloning out a single pebble or totally smoothing out a distracting background. Once you have started down the slope we are all in the same boat.

    I concentrate on making images that make me (and hopefully a few other folks) happy and that sell. I do not worry much about categorizing them (unless I am entering a contest). And I always let folks know what I have done (as I did here).
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    Quote Originally Posted by mitalpatel View Post
    superb repost very well done. i would still try 1 round of NR to give smoothen the bg's noise over red and yellow.
    Good suggestion for those who are concerned with noise :) Actually I seem to recall that somehow selecting the upper layer was how I got into trouble with that ugly transition in the original post. Thanks for visiting.

    On another topic, have you and Kiran ever photographed together???
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    Ofer Levy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Interesting point. How often does our optimized image match the colors and light that existed at the moment of capture? Rarely. And after that, it is just a matter of degree so who makes the call? .

    Actually, I and quite a few other photographers all around the world are doing our best to match the colours and light as much as we can so it will look natural and not over saturated.
    I have no problem with the kind of "digital creation" you have done but I would suggest maybe having a dedicated forum for that as done in other similar websites.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    Actually, I and quite a few other photographers all around the world are doing our best to match the colours and light as much as we can so it will look natural and not over saturated.
    I have no problem with the kind of "digital creation" you have done but I would suggest maybe having a dedicated forum for that as done in other similar websites.
    Perhaps you and all others should start your own forum as we have never once had that suggestion here in two years.

    Funny how you over-saturated that painterly crane that I just looked at....
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    Keith's repost is the one to go for me. Love the silhouette and light. Definitively a wall hanger.

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    Ofer Levy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Perhaps you and all others should start your own forum as we have never once had that suggestion here in two years.

    Funny how you over-saturated that painterly crane that I just looked at....
    I have no interest in starting a new digital creation forum as I am more of a documentary type of bird photographer.

    As to the "painterly crane" repost - I did not boost saturation at all. I just adjusted levels and contrast which IMO was quite appropriate in order to achieve a natural presentation rather than the washed out low contrast original.
    There is a big difference between deliberatly shooting with totally unnatural WB setting of 9000K in order to get an artificailly overstaturated image as you have done in this post and adjusting an image within what most photographers will agree as natural and acceptable boundaries as I did in the crane repost.

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    Love the compo and low angle

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    Lifetime Member philperry's Avatar
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    Speaking as just one of 'most photographers' I do not agree Ofer. People are not colour-calibrated and as far as I can tell Artie's photo shows exactly the sort of colours I would expect at the time of day the pic was taken. How Artie got there does not seem relevant. Apart from anything else wildlife photography is supposed to be fun. Documenting wildlife does not rule out creativity and this photo is a great shot whichever way you look at it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    I have no interest in starting a new digital creation forum as I am more of a documentary type of bird photographer.

    As to the "painterly crane" repost - I did not boost saturation at all. I just adjusted levels and contrast which IMO was quite appropriate in order to achieve a natural presentation rather than the washed out low contrast original.
    There is a big difference between deliberatly shooting with totally unnatural WB setting of 9000K in order to get an artificailly overstaturated image as you have done in this post and adjusting an image within what most photographers will agree as natural and acceptable boundaries as I did in the crane repost.
    By increasing the contrast in Amy's image you made the REDs redder. Your comments reek of a God-like all-knowing photographer among us: "I am more of a documentary type of bird photographer." "...and adjusting an image within what most photographers will agree as natural and acceptable boundaries."

    ps: Dear All-knowing God of Photography: I would be interested in hearing your comments on the work of Ansel Adams. From what I understand his final images looked nothing like what he saw.
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    Quote Originally Posted by philperry View Post
    Speaking as just one of 'most photographers' I do not agree Ofer. People are not colour-calibrated and as far as I can tell Artie's photo shows exactly the sort of colours I would expect at the time of day the pic was taken. How Artie got there does not seem relevant. Apart from anything else wildlife photography is supposed to be fun. Documenting wildlife does not rule out creativity and this photo is a great shot whichever way you look at it.
    Thanks Phil. I agree 100% that photography should be fun. Fun for the person who creates the image, and fun for the folks who view it. I visited your web site and was sorry to here of your (and other's) loss: Makwela. And congrats and mazel tov on the Nature's Best Highly Honored Landscape image. It's nice to know that they group antelope-scapes with landscapes!
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    Thanks for the nice the supportive comments Artie. What was amazing about Makwela and the dominant male, Wallys, was that you could travel Southern Africa and meet people who knew her/them. Even Sir Richard Branson would have known her as his lodge is sited in that corner of Sabi Sands. World famous wild leopards !

    Thanks also for comments on my blesbok-scape. Natures Best defined their landscape section as 'Dramatic scenes and unusual perspectives of land providing expansive views'. Nothing a few blesbok cannot improve :). I can seldom 'see' good landscapes - so I usually have to include an animal or two.

    To get back to the point a bit: Silhouettes. My shot was also a silhouette but in my case I was only able to make minute adjustments as the light in my photo was very subtle. Your silhouette by contrast has wonderful bold lighting that can be played around with. I always find that sunsets have a wide range of acceptable 'levels' settings - depending on taste, of course.

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    Ofer Levy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    By increasing the contrast in Amy's image you made the REDs redder. Your comments reek of a God-like all-knowing photographer among us: "I am more of a documentary type of bird photographer." "...and adjusting an image within what most photographers will agree as natural and acceptable boundaries."

    ps: Dear All-knowing God of Photography: I would be interested in hearing your comments on the work of Ansel Adams. From what I understand his final images looked nothing like what he saw.
    Dear Artie,
    I am sure most people will smile when reading YOU referring to me as "Dear All-knowing God of photography".

    I won't get into this discussion as it becomes too personal and unprofessional for me. I assume this forum is about discussing and exchanging ideas in a professional and civilized way and I am going to respect this.
    Cheers,
    Ofer
    Last edited by Ofer Levy; 12-13-2009 at 06:27 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    Dear Artie, I am sure most people will smile when reading YOU referring to me as "Dear All-knowing God of photography".Ofer
    Dear A-K GOP, I apologize for neglecting to capitalize the word photographer. As for your inference, I simply let folks know what I do and what I think. I do not attempt to impose my standards on them.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    I like the pose and composition. However, shooting at K9000 basically gives an un-naturaly warm effect. I assume the colours in reality weren't so rich and saturated. It would be interesting to hear what people think about creating this over-saturation effect - does this belong to the 'digital creation' department or maybe 100% nature photography....?

    Ofer,
    When I was shooting film, I always had an 81A/B and C in my vest.
    I use my WB the same way I formerly used my warming filters.

    Product photographers are color fidelity freaks(they have to be). Nature photographers can choose to be color fidelity freaks or they can choose to allow themselves to be creative with their colors.
    Dead on colors, desaturated or over-saturated, it is the artist choice.

    Long before I owned a digital camera, I was changing the WB (with filters) and color saturation(with film choice, filters and/or exposure).

    So this image does not belong in a digital creation forum.

    I encourage all of my students to open their eyes to the possibilities.
    Knowing how to control WB and Color Fidelity/Saturation just adds that many more arrows into a photographer's creative quiver.

    James

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