Theme: Flying Straight Down The Barrel

[Steven Kersting]

Took this out the window of my truck....I saw this Cooper's hanging out near the road and pulled over....Lighting was bad, overcast (thank goodness) and backlit. I feel I got lucky on this one. (actually, I feel "lucky" with most bird shots)




Camera Nikon D3
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture f/5.6
Focal Length 800 mm
ISO Speed 1400

[Arthur Morris]

Sweet pose. What month?

Needs a crop from the bottom, sharpening of the bird only, and noise reduction on the BKGR only.... As in the repost :)

[Arthur Morris]

Plus a bit of BGKR clean-up....

[Steven Kersting]

It was taken in Oct....
What method of sharpening did you use?
I was getting "over-sharp" artifacts when I was attempting it originally.

[Arthur Morris]

Were you sharpening the master file or the JPEG?

[Steven Kersting]

I was working with the RAW file at 100% (the posted image is only about 50% size).... I think I was just using LR's built in tools.
I have gotten a bit more versed in various methods....maybe I'll go back and try HighPass sharpening.

[Arthur Morris]

Steve, It seems that you are not aware of something very basic and important. You should NEVER sharpen your master file, NEVER sharpen any image until it is sized for final usage......

You might consider getting a copy of our Digital Basics files. I contains a primer on sharpening. And tons and tons more... (Our store is down right now but Jim is by the phone :)

BTW, I sharpened your JPEG using the method that I recommend in DB: set the Radius to .3 and then adjust the amount till the image looks sharp without and edge artifacting... For your image it was about 150/.3/0.

[Steven Kersting]

I generally use LR3 for basic editing and only go into PS if I need something more advanced.
So you're saying LR's sharpening is "bad" technique?

[Arthur Morris]

I am saying what I said. It is wrong to sharpen any file, especially your master files, until they are sized for a specific usage. It has nothing at all to do with Lightroom; you are the one who is choosing to sharpen at the wrong time....

You optimize an image however you choose w/o sharpening. Then you make a duplicate of that, downsize it to say 96 dpi and 800 wide, and then sharpen the resulting file for the web.... If you wish to make a large print, you duplicate your master file, re-size the image, and then sharpen that resulting file....

You have lots of learning to do and again I suggest Digital Basics as a great place to start....