Taken at the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve last February. I cloned out some OOF branches and adjusted the color of the sky, which originally was gray. I also slightly desaturated the reds on the bird.
What I can't solve is the problem with the blown yellow highlights on the gorget. Tried Color Replace and a few other methods, but no success. I welcome any suggestions.
Canon 7D and the 400mm f/5.6. Manual, f/8, 1/1250sec, ISO 800.
I am really loving this one John. Beautifully simple, elegant, with great pose and sharpness. I wonder if you had considered an alternative crop- horizontal with some off the bottom and a little off the left? Having said this, I like it the way it is. Definitely a wall-hanger for me!
Problem with the colors on the gorget is that they don't display the flashing bright colors on the gorget unless the light is hitting it just right or unless you have multiple sources of light such as from multiple flashes. I don't know of a way to compensate for that because of the critical nature of the way the light has to hit it on an angle to each feather. I think it would look artificial if you tried to duplicate that artificially.
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. In addition to the vertical crop, I did consider - and made - a horizontal crop (similar to the one Joerg posted), but decided to go with the vertical. After looking at Joerg's version, I think I like the horizontal better!
Chris, you are certainly right about the light. Perhaps a slight head turn towards the camera would have prevented the highlight problem (as well as more evenly illuminating the gorget).
Great colors -- lit up gorget of a hummer is one of the wonders os nature in my book. I was in awe the first time I saw it and am still impressed when I see it today. The tail feathers look good and the gorget does not bother me in the least
Great colours, details, and exposure. I love the thin perch, and you did a great job with the post-processing. Pose-wise I would have prefered a tiny bit better HA, but love the tail spread. For the blown yellow on the gorget (especially the very lightest ones), I would try cloning in some neighbouring pixels...soft brush (30% or so hardness), and a around 20-25% opacity. Work at high magnification to ease the job :-) Worth a try.
Thanks, everyone, for the additional comments. Scott, it's good to hear that the yellow highlights may not be distracting to everyone. Daniel, I did try the cloning approach you suggested, and made a mess of it, but I didn't use the settings you suggest. I will give it another go...
Very nice, love the simple small perch. I prefer the original crop. This image even got the "thats beautiful" approval from my wife when I showed her the image. The only one she said that about tonight ;).