Juvi BCNH Portrait

[Ian Cassell]

I know there are those here who are not wild about B/W in bird portraits, but I liked this one. Maybe a bit more room in front of his beak?

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L

1/1250 f/7.1 ISO 400 HH

Levels, Conversion, Sharpening in CS5

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Ian, I may be in the minority here but I like this b&w conversion. It reminds me of a page from an old textbook. I'm seeing a bit of noise in the bg and some pretty dark areas on the back of the neck that you could try dodging a bit. You could use a bit more room on the left, but not a lot. Nice work and kudos for posting something different!

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Kerry. I realized after I posted it that it's a bit dark. I'll go back and mess with it. I think I have a little real estate left. BTW, for those interested, here's the color version.

[Kerry Perkins]

Well, now you did it... I like this version better! A little bit of NR and this one goes on the wall.

[Ian Cassell]

OK, Kerry, here's some NR on the BG (Noiseware Pro) and a bit of real-estate.

[Paul Guris]

I prefer the color one also. The eye just makes it pop, and the yellow/green on the bill and around the eye really add to the impact as well.

The background on the B&W version just doesn't provide enough contrast for me, even while the details of the bird's plumage do.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Ian - I agree with Kerry and Paul. I much prefer the color, the eye really pops.

TFS,
Rachel

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, folks! I appreciate the comments. I really thought B/W worked here, but ...

[Kerry Perkins]

Ian, the b&w did work just fine IMO, but the color version is much stronger. Good job on the repost, I think it looks much better.

[nancy hazen]

Ian, I like the B & W version too, but that eye and the noise reduction makes the 3rd one my pick.

B & W is very dramatic with birds, but in this case you have captured great color too. It is nice to have 2 pleasing images.

Nancy