Juvi Trumpeter doing the color tour

[Randy Stout]

This young trumpeter swan is from this years hatch, and was captured at the local bird sanctuary.

I was pleased to get the fall foliage in, but still showing pretty good separation for the bird.

D300 500mm f/4 with 1.4 TC @ f/8 1/1600s ISO 500 Gitzo/Wimberley

Post: PS5 curves, slight canvas expansion on left, selective sharpening.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Very nice. Like the foliage and the wing position. With the light slightly from the right I'd use Tim Grey Dodge and Burn to lighten the face a tad. I will teach it on the SW FLA IPT! (Randy and Daniel will be co-leading with me.)

[Gary Esman]

Very nice Randy. I kind of felt sorry for the fella, could not find a place to land. like the background, pose and detail. Gotta love those feet!

Gary.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks Artie.

You are right about the light angle but he still had a pretty dark face as his juvi plummage changes. I think the area in front of the eye should be lightened a bit.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Understood but the face in front of the eye is shaded and thus darker than the rest :)

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yes, the foliage does add, and I too like the wing position.

As a fan of the dodge and burn tools I'm anxious to learn about the "Tim Grey" method:)

[denise ippolito]

Randy, I like the flight pose and I haven't seen a juvi so thanks for sharing. Nice details throughout. Have fun in Florida. Will Tim Grey be there this year? He is a blast!

[Stu Bowie]

Randy, you nailed the flying posture with the wing in the full down position. These guys look unbalanced with their long necks. Good separation from the BG.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Randy, I liked the placement of the swan in the frame a lot. Nice balance.

i am seeing some noise in BG. If I am not mistaken, you had said some time back that you like grain.

[Randy Stout]

Kaustubh:

I think it is more accurate to say I am not as bothered by noise/grain as folks raised in the digital era, since I grew up pushing Tri-X to ridiculous ISOs. Don't like it, just tolerate it better.

Having said that, I think what you are seeing is the bokeh of the out of focus highlights, rather than actual noise. I wouldn't expect much noise at this ISO with a D300 when properly exposed, which it was.

Cheers

Randy

[Andrew McLachlan]

Randy, nice capture here. I think I would lighten up the face a little too.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks again everyone.

Artie, I went back in and used Tim Greys dodge technique on the face to bring it up a bit. Used a 15% brush. Could go a bit lighter, but I thought this adjustment was consistent with other areas.

Thanks for the recommendation.

Randy