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Thread: Leap of Faith . . .

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    Default Leap of Faith . . .

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    Why, you ask, did I perform major surgery on my original shot (posted below)? Because the resulting photo illustration shows the leap of faith that birds regularly take as they jump into space--and because, well, how many pale thrushes in flight have YOU seen on this forum? "Leap of Faith" also describes my state of mind as I post my risky confection. Turdus pallidus breeds in Siberia, the Russian Far East, Manchuria, and Korea and is common in winter in Shanghai.

    Device: Nikon D3S
    Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
    Focal length: 600mm
    VR: OFF
    Aperture: F/6.3
    Shutter Speed: 1/4000
    Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
    Exposure Comp.: 0EV
    Metering: Center-Weighted
    ISO Sensitivity: ISO 3200
    Photoshoppery: I highlighted the entire original shot, copied it, created a new file, pasted the copy of the original, and flipped it vertically. I copied the resulting upside-down image. I then went back to the original shot, doubled the depth, and pasted the upside-down copy of the original in the bottom half. I cloned out the mirror image of the thrush from the lower half and doctored the bottom and top halves enough to dispel the impression of a mirror copy. In the original shot, the beak of the thrush was just off the frame; I harvested the tip of the beak from the shot immediately previous to this one and worked it in here. My final act of Photoshoppery is this, my full disclosure--I've got nuthin' to hide.
    Last edited by Craig Brelsford; 01-23-2011 at 09:50 AM.

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    Here's the original.

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    Macro and Flora Moderator Jonathan Ashton's Avatar
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    Well I have to take my hat off to you - well done!

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Craig, amazing pp work, and I salute you for saving your image. Half of us would have deleted this in camera, and the other half would have deleted this on their PC's.:w The thrush pops nicely from the BG in your final edit, and love the curled feet. Very well done.

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    This one really makes me wonder about those thousands of images that I've deleted in-camera without giving them a fighting chance. Terrific PP.

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    Hey Craig, all I can say is Wow, I would have trashed this one. It's to much work for me firstly and also my PS skills are not good enough, GREAT WORK

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    Lifetime Member James Salywoda's Avatar
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    Well you did well with your processing Graig and saved this image I like the diving pose.

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    Craig, the PP work here is beyond words. what a save...incredible.

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    Gracias, everyone, for the thumbs up! If you understand Turdus pallidus, then you'll see why I went to the effort. It's a shy bird (especially in winter), and even in inner city parks retains its character as a forest bird, preferring shady areas. When I saw one perching on a lone tree with the sun directly on him, I saw a marketing opportunity. Who knows when the chance to shoot a pale in flight will come again.

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