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Thread: Purple Sandpiper Barnegat Jettyyyy!!!

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    Default Purple Sandpiper Barnegat Jettyyyy!!!

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    Denise clued us in on these little guys, we were walking back and the sun was just below the horizon, I cranked the ISO up a tad and took this shot, I was very pleased with the down hill stance, and it was still showing some signs of the purple on his back even though the sun had set. Exposure brought up .5 or so in LR, minor cloning to remove specks here and there, pumped the color and adjusted WB out of Raw to my liking, I find the WB is tricky to set when you shoot higher ISO's.

    C&C Welcomed
    Chad

    Camera mounting = Hand held
    Model = Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
    Software = Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows
    Exposure Time = 1/1000"
    F Number = F5.6
    Exposure Program = Manual
    ISO Speed Ratings = 1250
    Subject Distance = 7.19m
    Metering Mode = Pattern
    Flash = Off
    Focal Length = 700mm
    Exposure Mode = Manual exposure
    EF500mm f/4L IS USM +1.4x
    Black Bar removed for Art's viewing pleasure :D

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Chad:

    The angle of the rock does make for an interesting pose. Good environmental effect.
    Bird is sharp with nice catchlight, nice exposure adjustment in LR.
    I might consider smoothing out the two specular highlights below the bill.
    I could see a version with the OOF stick in lower left hand corner( highlighted against the BG), removed.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Nice job on the black bar and the image. Everything--downhill pose, SH, soft light, etc.--works for me but the head angle; though square to the back of the camera, the head is actually turned away a bit from the line of the body.... With the bird angled slightly toward you the head needs to be on straight. Being aware of that can help you create better images in the field.
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    Really liked this image...terrific sharpness, exposure and pose. I am liking the habitat too. Good job on removing whatever you did as I cant detect any traces of that.

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    Hi Chad, head and bill are tack sharp, great catch light. Very nice background and surroundings. Agree with Randy on the highlights and wish the whole bird was in focus.

    TFS, Gary.

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    Randy & Gary, where were you guys, Ron and I just got back from the bird sanctuary, had some nice swan fly by's, no hooded, no mergansers, some mallard fly by's and we seen two RTH.

    Randy, I may try the stick removal that you suggested.

    Artie, I read your stickie thread about head position (great read!), I think of that very thing when I'm in the field shooting, there are times I even say under my breath.. Turn your head just a tad more for me :D:D Thanks for the C&C

    Gary, I often try for the entire bird in focus, this time the light was too low for that, I had to make sure the head was in focus and got lucky the purple back was as well :)



    Thanks for the comments guys,
    Last edited by Chad Caswell; 01-03-2011 at 12:31 PM.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chad Caswell View Post

    Randy, I may try the stick removal that you suggested.

    Artie, I read your stickie thread about head position (great read!), I think of that very thing when I'm in the field shooting, there are times I even say under my breath.. Turn your head just a tad more for me :D:D Thanks for the C&C

    Gary, I often try for the entire bird in focus, this time the light was too low for that, I had to make sure the head was in focus and got lucky the purple back was as well :)

    Thanks for the comments guys,
    Stick removal and specular highlight removal took less than one minutes the former with an 80% opacity Clone Stamp Tool the latter with a 55% opacity Clone Stamp Tool.

    As for head angle, sometimes you have to pray or implore loudly :)

    I am 100% fine with the d-o-f here. Focus on the eye and the rest be damned :)
    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.

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    Now that I see it without, I do like it better, thanks Artie!

    Chad

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    A very fine photo, but I'd darken it up a bit. The bird looks a bit washed out compared to a Purple Sandpiper in real life. These are fairly dark birds and the head and breast in both the original and the re-post look unnaturally light to me.

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    Good close up of the little guy, and I like the angled walking posture. The colourful weed on the rock adds interest. Artie's repost works well.

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    Exposure look fine to me, I wouldn't darken it. Good comp, bordering tight, but still OK. I'm also OK with the DOF...same as Artie's philosophy - eye and face sharp, and whatever else falls wherever it does.

    Man, that seaweed just HAD to block the foot's view now didn't it!!:p

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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Guris View Post
    A very fine photo, but I'd darken it up a bit. The bird looks a bit washed out compared to a Purple Sandpiper in real life. These are fairly dark birds and the head and breast in both the original and the re-post look unnaturally light to me.
    Hi Paul, While the image might be just a tad on the light side for some tastes, I would not describe it at all as "washed out".

    Have you checked your calibration strip?
    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.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    ps: Taking a second look I would say that the exposure, tonality, and feather detail are all superb!
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    I'm at work. I'll try to take a peak tonight on the good monitor. Maybe the office computer (not exactly optimized for photos) is off a bit.

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    Chad, Beautifully done. The pose and the habitat are super. I like how you managed to show the bit of purple on the back. As for the "washed out" comment-no way it looks exactly as I see them on the jetty. :)

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    Thanks for the comments guys and gal :)

    My brother did a quick edit below

    I should add, he removed some noise in the deeps, adjusted contrast slightly and did the clone job with the stick, I supplied the HR tiff to him for editing :D
    Last edited by Chad Caswell; 01-03-2011 at 05:25 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Guris View Post
    I'm at work. I'll try to take a peak tonight on the good monitor. Maybe the office computer (not exactly optimized for photos) is off a bit.
    Thanks Paul. Let us know how it looks at home.
    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.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Good job by "bro." A bit off the top and the bottom (as I forgot to mention above) would make it even better.
    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.

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    Beautiful shot Chad I like pose and the surrounding habitat your composition really works nicely and the bird is tack sharp. Well Done!

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    Nice job Chad, glad you were able to capture this one :)

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    Art: Thanks for the monitor check suggestion. I have now looked at the photos on 4 different monitors, and proper exposure wins 3 to 1. My work computer is due to be upgraded in the next month. Hopefully that will give me a clean sweep of decent monitors!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    YAW. All that you need to do is look at the calibration strip :)
    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.

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    Thanks for the comments Artie, James, Noelleee and Paul

    Will do Artie!

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