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Thread: Winter - First Light

  1. #1
    Terry Olmsted
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    Default Winter - First Light

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    Trumpeter Swans - Taken just after 'sunrise' on a cloudy cold day at Shadow Lake near Snohomish WA on the 16th of Dec. Thanks to a south wind, the swans were taking off coming toward me for a change.
    I kept this shot because of the early morning mood.

    Canon 40D 400mm f5.6L 1/1000s ISO 1250 f5.6 0 exp comp AE partial metering no filtering, minor crop, brightness/contrast edits.

  2. #2
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Terry:

    As someone who has been know to post a picture or two of trumpeter swans, I always enjoy seeing them.

    Nice formation flying, although I would prefer the head of the back bird to be less blocked by the front birds wing. I think it would have worked better if the lower bird was closer to us, so its neck overlapped the wing, rather than the opposite. If we could just get them to fly the way we want:p

    I know you were after the early morning look, but I might go just a bit brighter, perhaps 1/4 stop.

    Cheers

    Randy

  3. #3
    Terry Olmsted
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    Thanks for taking the time to critique, Randy. I agree with you. I'll be posting at least one other shot from the same morning. I'll keep your points in mind.
    Terry

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    Terry - I really like the symmetry here - that in itself makes the photo for me. I agree with Randy - could use a slight exposure increase. Did you run NR? If so I suggest another run to reduce the slight granularity in the BG.

  5. #5
    Todd Frost
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    Good points from Randy and Dan. I too like the symmertry in this image.
    TFS
    Todd

  6. #6
    Terry Olmsted
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    Thanks Randy, Dan, and Todd for your suggestions and comments! Here's a revised version - lightened, and filtered using Neat Image. I did a bit of spot sharpening to offset the loss of detail caused by the NR.

  7. #7
    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Terry:

    The brighter image works better for me.

    I am seeing some sharpening halos, esp. noticeable above the head of the back bird, but also along the wings of the rear bird.

    Cheers

    Randy

  8. #8
    Terry Olmsted
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    So do I - I will take some time and remove them - thanks, Randy!

  9. #9
    Terry Olmsted
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    Here's a final correction, Randy - thanks again. That's what I get for being sloppy with the spot sharpening :)

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