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Thread: June Theme: Pairs - A Pair of Purple Martins

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    Default June Theme: Pairs - A Pair of Purple Martins

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    Nikon D7000 w/Nikkor 300mm + 1.4X TC, tripod mounted
    ISO 640; Matrix Metering + 0.67; f/11, 1/500 sec
    PP: PS CS5 crop, levels, curves and SH

    Although most birds perching on our weeping cherry trees are constantly in motion, this young purple martin couple almost seemed to pose for their portrait.

    All C&C are welcome.

    Norm

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    Ofer Levy
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    Good job in getting the two in the frame. Bird on the right looks oof and it is looking away from you which weaken this image IMO. Would also crop at least half of the empty space at the top and add to the sides to make this more of a horizontal.

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    Not sure but something about the IQ here looks off...Colors and textures as well (But never seen one of these guys so not sure if im right) The portrait crop gives a touch to much empty space on the top IMO...I would also like to see a landscape crop...Nice to get the double though TFS

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    What I love here is that you got this species on a natural-looking perch. We have a few colonies that are accessible, but none will perch on anything else than wires or poles.

    Great to have a side-by-side. I too wish the bird on the right had its' head turned more our way. The colours look muddied...perhaps some aggressive S/H use (or other method to darken the whites used?)

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    I like the opposite poses, although the martin on the right didnt play ball with regards to a good HA. Good to see the different colours of both martins, and agree this is worth visiting again with regards to IQ.

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    Thanks for the comments thus far.

    I think a horizontal crop with different spacing around the birds is worth considering. And I too wish that the bird on the right had looked a bit more my way, and that it had been more in the plane of the other for more sharpness. But the perch angled away and made f/11 insufficient for the degree of total sharpness I would have desired.

    But I'm not sure what the issue is with IQ. These are obviously very young birds, that don't have the plumage colors and textures expected for older, more mature birds. But nothing was done with SH that could have affected the lighter feathers. My only use of SH involved modest adjustment with the shadows slider only, to slightly brighten the otherwise dark wing of the bird on the right.

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    Norm another vote for horizontal. Getting two head angles right is always hard...esp. if the birds give you limited time. I am also not sure why the IQ is off. If you post the orig out-of-camera shot, it might be easier to solve the mystery.

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    Ofer Levy
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    Here is a repost with my idea as to composition (if you got enough room on the left) and some levels and colours adjustments. Haven't seen the birds so I might be off...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ofer Levy View Post
    Here is a repost with my idea as to composition (if you got enough room on the left) and some levels and colours adjustments. Haven't seen the birds so I might be off...
    Thanks Ofer, for your continuing interest and effort! I like it, and I see the wisdom of the horizontal crop in this case.

    And actually, your marvelous perch construction on the left eliminates some annoying side branches in the original, which is part of the reason why I went to a vertical crop. Very well done!
    Last edited by Norm Dulak; 06-02-2011 at 06:16 PM.

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