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.
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.
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.