Should I have cloned out the debris in the BG?
Manual
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 600 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
Flash: No Flash
Skimmer on action
Should I have cloned out the debris in the BG?
Manual
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/2000)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 600 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -1/3 EV
Flash: No Flash
2 negatives- he's flying slightly away and the BG is cluttered, as you mentioned. I would be tempted to clone it. :)
Now on to the other stuff....love this shot! Love the action and low angle. Nice job with exposure too! Nice catchlight in the eye to bring it out from the mask. Could be wrong, but needs some CCW rotation IMO.
The angle is very nice. I like the wing fully up like this, and the bill trailing in the water with the splashes behind it. Exposure looks great. I would've worked on getting the stuff out of the bg, but then I don't think it's too dominant in the picture. I guess it's what you want out of it.
Would a pano crop with some canvas added before and after the bird work with this image?
Hi Troy, I agree with getting rid of the distracting blotches in the BG. Love the action, the contrast, and the details in the wing. Nice trail of drops. Would consider adding a bit of canvas on top and some cropping on the right.
Hi Troy, Some good comments above. Good detail and you caught the action well.The water trail adds alot to the image. I like the crop front to back but agree on a bit more room on top. If it were mine I would get clone out some of the backround material...
Thank you all. I will spend some time on it tonight.
Hello Troy, I might make a suggestion here regarding "cloning" on this image. I've spent a good amount of time with a few terrific nature photographers and they give just about as much consideration to the background in their images as they do to their subject. In this case, while you were observing this bird, could you have found a way to capture a nice clean bg right from the start? Skimmers where I live are not rare, so personally, I would spend my time in the field working on a good capture right from the start rather than in front of the computer cloning out stuff. Now a rare bird, slightly diff story..of course, try for a good background, but if one cannot be achieved, fire away and then deal in post processing. Just my approach, for what it's worth.
Grace, I agree with you. This shallow area was not that big, like a small pool of water. Yes, I probably could have moved left or right.Originally Posted by Grace Scalzo
I did not spend a lot of time on the cloning part because I was not sure this is a good image to be worth saving. I need to think before I shoot. That is what I am trying to learn to do consistently. :)
Thank you.
You are welcome, Troy. This is something that I am trying to be improve in my own photography.
Me too..more work with camera, less with PP. :)
Grace hit the nail right on the head !!! I try looking for the right setting first of all .. skimmers are numerous and will show up if active !!
Crop wise I like the trailing water so will have more room behind them lots of time. Each image would have to be judge differently. For this one more from the back would look good and don't mind that the bird is slightly past because of the room behind !!!
.. .try to catch one skimming in golden water at the end of the day :) .. could luck out and hope you do !!!
I like the bird, exposure and I did not clone because I did not do it right at the camera.
Like you said, I can always go back and get more, they will be there for a while.
I will try on the golden light. Will be tough as it will be backlit as we are facing the west. Will try it next time.
Thank you all once again.
good thread!! nice job with the techs, troy!!
Thanks Harold.
Took all your advise and this is what I came out with. Hopefully my cloning job is ok.
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