I've been watching the forums for awhile, and haven't had the courage to post before. But a couple of weeks ago my husband and I attended Doug Brown and Jim Neiger's handheld flight workshop at Huntington Beach, California. We had a wonderful time, and Doug and Jim suggested we should post pics here to get help and improve.
This week we saw Grosbeaks come in to our sunflower seed feeder in the backyard for the first time - and have been having fun trying to capture them.
This shot is on a Nikon D300, Sigma 300-800 at 800, ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/1600
(sorry Jim and Doug, not handheld! )
it has been cropped in lightroom, and we tried sharpening with Nik sharperner pro - output (for display), in photoshop just before sizing the photo for web, but are uncertain if this is the best workflow? would love to have it look even sharper if we could....
I'll appreciate any input anyone can offer
thanks!
Hi - big warm welcome to BPN - Dont hesitate to jump right in and leave comments on other peoples images - no better or faster way to improve your own skills,all we ask is that you say what it is you like or dont like about the image.
Nice first post.
Ohh you have been spoiled - shooting with the Sigmonster - tough one to HH but can be done.
Like the detail - Good HA and food in the beak is a plus - looks pretty sharp to my eyes - the area's that appear a little softer are more likely due to DOF. Selectively sharpening the eye a little might give you what you are looking for - a sharp eye will give the impression the entire image is sharper. Here is a quick rework - eye sharpened - some additional fine detail sharpening and darkened the beak a little and some NR on the background.
Probably a little over sharpened now - did that on purpose so the differences can be seen.
Some might suggest toning down the highlights on the beak.
Hi Pat,Another big welcome to you. Good first post with some helpful tweaks from Lance. Since the image is very sharp on the repost it shouldn't be a problem for you to adjust to your liking.
For my taste I might tone down the brightness just a bit.
Oh,if you can hand hold the sigmonster your ready for the olympics...
hi Lance and Dave, thank you for your input - I really appreciate the help!
yeah - I really love the Sigma --- but no way can I hand hold it! I'm planning on starting a regimen of weight lifting and see if I can work my way up to it :o . I was using a 300mm with 1.4 tc at the flight workshop and got so jealous of everyone with their long lenses so when we got home I started practicing with the 200-400mm. Its just going to take time and practice.
Lance - you are right, I can see the difference the eye sharpening makes. I experimented and selected just the eye (not the eyelid) and used filter/sharpen/unsharp mask and bumped it a little and like that better. Could you tell me how you would recommend darkening the bill? I tried selecting it with the quickselection tool and using curves to darken it a little - but am afraid that might give me a harsh line if i overdid it.
Dave - I tried decreasing the exposure just a fraction - and I can see what you meant about the brightness. Is that the proper way to tone it down just a bit?
Welcome to the newbie list--from a newbie! It's really intimidating to post on BPN, so many amazing photographs, such wonderful critiques. They're right though, jump in and get your feet wet. I'm jealous of the workshop you got to attend, but look forward to the macro workshop I get to attend soon.
I like the repost by Lance, and I appreciate the great suggestions that folks have given to you. They are helping me, too. I agree about sharpening the image, it's something I struggle with, too. Good luck, and keep posting! Looks like you've got great fodder for shooting!
I was hoping you'd post an image on ETL Pat! Sorry it took so long to comment but I haven't spent much time here lately. Lance provided some excellent advice on sharpening. Now lets see some of those workshop images!
First post - female Black-headed Grosbeak
