I took this picture yesterday on a cloudy morning -- I know I'm standing somewhat above the bird, couldn't change that. My interest here is noise and sharpness. I can’t seem to get them (particularly noise) right; I think there was very little noise to begin with. I did only four things to the image – in PS Elements: (1) cropped; (2) then selected, with the Magic Wand tool, the water and ran NR on it three times at 10-Strength, 27-Preserve Details, 91-Reduce Color Noise; (3) then USM twice on the selected bird at 147-Amount, 2.0-Radius; (4) then used a brush to add a bit of white to the eye. That's it, no Color, Brightness, S/H changes, etc. C&C, please. All suggested appreciated.
Wendell
Hi Wendell, Buffleheads are a challenge, exposure-wise and I think you hit this one on the mark...the cloudy light was helpful, I'm sure. I don't see any problem with noise although I'm thinking the bird looks a little soft/smooth. I'm wondering if you should be using a higher shutter speed with the 2x converter to 400mm?
Hi Wendell - does look a little soft on my screen - my guess is due to camera shake/subject movement.
Shutter speed a little low with that focal length - try to remember the 1 over the focal length guideline....
So here 1/400th should have been the minimum shutter speed - so you could not have opened up any more already working wide open - so would have had ti increase the ISO.
noise looks fine.
Exposure looks close.
Keep em coming :)
Katie & Lance: Sounds good to me . . . I'll try an increased shutter speed . . . and glad I got the noise OK . . . Thanks for you helpful, prompt comments. . .
Hi Wendell When you sharpen ... are you sharpening the entire image of just the part you need? Will make a huge difference.
Noise removal wise ... which program are you using? ... btw if you want to get the full version of PS there is a neat way of getting a discount ... enroll in a JR college non credit class and will have huge student discount !!!
Hi Alfred: On this one I sharpened only the selected bird; however, in the past I have sometimes dealt with the entire image for sharpening and for noise. Lance has convinced me not to do that. As for noise removal, I use what is available in PS Elements only. Perhaps i should get an add-on or a stand-alone app. -- any suggestions? And i'll think about full PS.
Miss Bufflehead
