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Thread: Anhinga

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    Default Anhinga

    I get lucky once in a while and a bird will get in shooting distance of my 75-300 lens. This one stayed around for a few photos before leaving. Made with AF 75-300 on a tripod. PP with NX2



    Name:  anhinga 1.jpg
Views: 153
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    I find these birds amazing how they can twist their necks. This one is also an interesting pose how it is looking at you. The colored thing in the BG is a little distracting for me. I'd give a try to get some more detail out of the black area with Viveza or some PS work. Nice imge and thank you for sharing.

    Lorant

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    I like the strong blacks in this image, it helps anchor the image. The head and eye seems just a smidge soft, maybe some selective sharpening is needed there?

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    Hi Jim. Nice image, but I think the primary problem is the dark plummage. It is solid black and with proper exposure it could have had feather detail. It is highly unlikely that Vivenza or anything else will be able to recover anything.
    The key with black and white plummaged birds is to shoot in low contrast light (I think you had it here) and expose for the dark plummage. You may have to wait for overcast or cloudy skies for low contrast (soft ) light. The big difference is that camera sensors can not capture the full range of luminosity in high contrast light, the dynamic range is too great. Low contrast light has a more limited dynamic range and sensors can capture all of it. Since you will be exposing for the dark plummage it is quite possible you will clip highlights nonetheless, but the chances are you will be able to recover them.
    I don't know what you are using, but I use Adobe Camera Raw, and in low contrast lighting (soft light) recovery of clipped highlights, as long as not too severe, is usually quite possible.
    This does not work with high contrast light(direct sunlight for example) and clipped highlights are usually not recoverable. This is why using soft light is so important.
    I noticed you left out quite important camera settings. F stop is most important here; anhingas with their long snakey necks usually require an unusally large DOF. ISO and shutter-speed info would be usefull as well. regards~Bill
    Last edited by WIlliam Maroldo; 12-17-2010 at 01:21 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by WIlliam Maroldo View Post
    Hi Jim. Nice image, but I think the primary problem is the dark plummage. It is solid black and with proper exposure it could have had feather detail. It is highly unlikely that Vivenza or anything else will be able to recover anything.
    The key with black and white plummaged birds is to shoot in low contrast light (I think you had it here) and expose for the dark plummage. You may have to wait for overcast or cloudy skies for low contrast (soft ) light. The big difference is that camera sensors can not capture the full range of luminosity in high contrast light, the dynamic range is too great. Low contrast light has a more limited dynamic range and sensors can capture all of it. Since you will be exposing for the dark plummage it is quite possible you will clip highlights nonetheless, but the chances are you will be able to recover them.
    I don't know what you are using, but I use Adobe Camera Raw, and in low contrast lighting (soft light) recovery of clipped highlights, as long as not too severe, is usually quite possible.
    This does not work with high contrast light(direct sunlight for example) and clipped highlights are usually not recoverable. This is why using soft light is so important.
    I noticed you left out quite important camera settings. F stop is most important here; anhingas with their long snakey necks usually require an unusally large DOF. ISO and shutter-speed info would be usefull as well. regards~Bill

    Bill here is the Exif on the photo. Thanks for the information

    Exposure Time (1 / Shutter Speed) 125/10000 second ===> 1/80 second ===> 0.0125 second
    Lens F-Number / F-Stop 56/10 ===> ƒ/5.6
    Exposure Program manual control (1)
    ISO Speed Ratings 200
    EXIF Version 0220
    Original Date/Time 2010:07:22 063:06
    Digitization Date/Time 2010:07:22 063:06
    Components Configuration 0x01,0x02,0x03,0x00 / YCbCr
    Exposure Bias (EV) 0/6 ===> 0
    Max Aperture Value (APEX) 5/1 ===> 5
    Max Aperture ƒ/5.66
    Metering Mode spot (3)
    Light Source / White Balance unknown (0)
    Flash Flash did not fire
    Focal Length 300/1 mm ===> 300 mm

    White Balance auto (0)
    Digital Zoom Ratio 1/1 ===> 1
    Focal Length in 35mm Film 450
    Scene Capture Type standard (0)
    Gain Control n/a (0)
    Contrast normal (0)
    Saturation normal (0)
    Sharpness hard (2)
    Subject Distance Range unknown (0)
    Last edited by Jim Bridges; 12-17-2010 at 07:08 PM.

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    Thanks Jim, but I don't need "all" the exif data! Just the basic stuff for images you post. I include the following;
    Camera/Lens with focal length used/Flash(if used)/ ISO/shutter-speed/ Fstop/exposure mode with EC or manual exposure/ Hand held or tripod/weather conditions as it relates to lighting/date/location/software used for post-processing. Since substantial cropping has such a negative on image quality that can easily attributed to other causes, I would certainly mention this as well. Thats about it. regards~Bill
    Last edited by WIlliam Maroldo; 12-17-2010 at 08:03 PM.

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