I had been trying to get some closer shots of cormorants at a local lake here. Even rented a long lens, but still was not close as I wanted. Took a break and went to zoo, and there at the bird sanctuary was this beautiful cormorant just a few yards away!
Canon 7D, 70-200 L IS II with Ext 2x II, 1/60, 5.6, AP 400 ISO
A big welcome on your first post on Avian.
The soft light is effective here, with good exposure.
The famous green eye showed up well.
A couple things to consider. The stick onto the back of his head is a bit distracting and might be worth removing. I would also tone down the nest area in general so it doesn't compete so much with the bird.
I would also consider toning down the bright highlights at the top of the frame as well.
Generally the birds are more engaging to the viewer if the head is turned more our way.
Thanks so much for sharing. You are on the right track. BPN is a great place to learn and grow as a photographer. Thanks for your membership support, and do take the time to comment on other folks' images, it is a great way to learn yourself.
Thanks for the helpful feedback Randy. I'll work on it some more in PS. I waited and waited for it to turn towards me, but it barely moved - just opened and closed its eyes.
Brendan, welcome aboard. Randy has covered everything. A image is a bit soft.... that might be because you were using a zoom lens at its max with a 2x and wide-open...and at low SS.
Ok, here goes. I cropped it down some to make it tighter and to have less room behind the head while keeping a larger amount of space in front. Removed the twigs of course. Brought saturation and lightness way down in the BG and toned down the nest. As Randy observed, the twigs, BG, and nest were all distracting from the subject. Finally, a few rounds of sharpening using Art's technique from his Digital Basics file which I finally figured out how to do.
The way it was shot I'm not sure I can get the nest that much sharper, which as William Maroldo advised: if you have to have FG objects, its better that they are in sharp focus, or just completely blurred out. So I need to apply this and everything else to future shots.
A much more effective image. You have nicely addressed the issues people mentioned. Very moody, contemplative, which I like.
Toning down the nest material has really helped. I would still try to tone down the one diagonal twig on the far left edge of frame that is point back towards the bird.
For the repost here I got rid of that last twig as per Randy's suggestion and sharpened the face and gular region with a Quick Mask: Unsharp Mask at 3./250/0. And removed a few white specks. :)
Thanks for the plugs; things will get easier every day.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Thank you sir! Much better now, and from your example, I'm starting to get a better understanding of how to sharpen properly. Enjoying BPN immensely. This is a wonderful, fun & educational environment that has been created and I'm learning a ton from all of you. That was a nice holiday gift to get a reply from you, appreciate you taking the time.
My pleasure Bendan. I say often that I wish that I had the time to comment on every image posted here in every forum....
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,