BCNH on the prowl

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L
1/1600sec f/7.1 ISO 400 on tripod

Levels, sharpening, and some cleanup in CS5

[Reynir Skarsgard]

I quite like this one, nice and sharp. Only thing is it feels a little tight and I would have liked to see the whole reflection.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Reynir. With the 400, he was too close to get the full reflection in the frame. I didn't really have room to back up. I could probably add some real estate, so I'll try it and see how it looks.

[Kerry Perkins]

Ian, nice capture - was this very early morning sun? I realize that the light was very warm at this time, but I feel that this one could benefit from a slightly cooler color temp which makes the water look more inviting as well as giving the bird a little more pop. The image seems a little flat to me due to the overall brightness. I took the liberty of working this one very quickly in CS5. Moved the color balance a little toward blue (cooler temp), lowered the mid-tones in levels, cleaned up the water, and did a very light round of USM sharpening (46-0.3-0). What do you think?

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, Kerry. Yes, this was just after sunup. I frankly would never have thought to cool it down -- my images usually require just the opposite -- but I like what you have done with it. I especially like the effect on the BG.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Love the sharpness, the details, the angle captured and nice walking pose with the big red eye. I like the repose with cooler tone. Might consider more space on the left for bird to walk into, might also try crop off the bottom since the reflection was not full. Seem like there maybe a dust spot near the back of the bird.