BCNH

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L
1/1250sec f/7.1 ISO 2000

NR in Noiseware Pro
Sharpening and levels in CS5/GF6.0

[Lance Peters]

hi Ian - any NR ?? Bird looks a little smooth and lacking in fine detail on my screen.
Could just be my screen??

[Dave Kilpatrick]

I like it and would be thrilled if it was one of my captures. It does look a little soft. Too bad about that horizontal twig in the upper right; however, I am not a fan of removing this stuff as it is part of the habitat in which you found the bird.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Ian, good positioning within the frame. Agree with Lance on the smoothness and wish for a bit more detail. Difficult to get a clean shot in that environment...

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, folks. Yes, I did some NR, but on BG and not on the bird. I'll have to go back and see what happened here. I did make an attempt at cloning out that twig, but wasn't happy with my results (I'm not very good at that), so left it there for now.

[David Thomasson]

Very nice capture. I like that head tilt and eye aimed right at you.

In CS5, the spot healing brush set to "content aware" will take out that branch in a stroke. I used Topaz Detail to bring out
the finer texture in the feathers. Also faded/darkened the background a bit and darkened the foreground branches.

[Alfred Forns]

Mighty fine re post David ... that bird would be proud of you :)

Ian with cluttered bg like here would use the lens wide open .. will minimize dof. Remember to post exp compensation or how you got there, will be easier to figure what you did !!!

[David Thomasson]

Mighty fine re post David ... that bird would be proud of you :)

And I'm proud of him. He's become like a son to me. :cool:

Ian with cluttered bg like here would use the lens wide open .. will minimize dof.

Good advice ... and if you had the 400 mm f2.8, you might get something like this:

[Rachel Hollander]

Ian - nice image and pose. David's repost is spot on and really takes it to the next level.

TFS,
Rachel

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, David. The repost was very helpful. I'm not familiar with Topaz Detail.

If I had the 400 f/2.8, however, I might need a chiropractor.

BTW -- looks like you added a bit of catchlight in the eye as well :)

[David Thomasson]

If I had the 400 f/2.8, however, I might need a chiropractor.

No doubt! I have a 70-200 f/2.8, which tires me out at 3 lbs., and the 400 weighs four times that much! That's a lot of glass.

BTW -- looks like you added a bit of catchlight in the eye as well :)

Good eye. Yep, I enhanced what was there.

[Stan Cunningham]

I think I need to quit my job so I can learn to touch up photos like you guys, nice work to all and I nice shot Ian. That's a tough bird to shoot at Gilbert Rip

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Stan. Postprocessing is definitely a weak point of mine. I need to spend a lot more time with the books learning how to do it right (and this forum certainly helps too).

Yes, these guys always seem to hide in the corners in Gilbert. Recently, however, the low water levels have driven them out to perches that are more easy to access. The guys who still usually elude me are the Green Herons. My 400mm just isn't long enough to grab them as they, without fail, sit on the oposite bank from where I'm shooting.