Willet

[Cheryl Slechta]

A willet from a recent day at the beach. I did usual levels, curves, NR and instead of usm (I could never find a combination that I liked) I used a slight Topaz Adjust Mild Details on the willet.
Just wondering if that's an accepted way of sharpening an image?
Canon 7D, 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS, 1/800, f/8, ISO 400, EV +1

Thanks for looking. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

[Bob Miller]

Cheryl....back leg looks like it could use more sharpening.....the rest looks Ok. I use USM myself usually at 150-200 strength
1.0 radius
0 Threshold
( for most nature shooting)
I am liking the low angle and simple bg. Nice work!

[Kerry Perkins]

Cheryl, I like the pose and exposure and your composition. I think the sharpening looks fine and any way that gets you the results you want is an accepted way in my book. (I use a combination of Topaz Detail "small detail" and USM immediately afterward.) Good job!

[nancy hazen]

Cheryl, I think it looks fine. I like the DOF and the action. A very natural shot and well done!
Nancy

[Jeff Cashdollar]

This is an interesting shot and I like it. initially I had some second thoughts but after studying the image, it is well done. The f/8 bring focus to the subject and the water in the upper frame is muted well. I like the way you resisted over saturating the browns and it looks totally natural to me. That is the beauty here IMO, I am seeing the same image you saw - well done.

Regarding sharpening. it is an art. I am sure you have read some of Arties comments in this regard. I think I read, he sharpens some images up to three times. Tell me more about how you used Topaz adjust.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Bob, Kerry, Nancy and Jeff - thanks for your comments Jeff, I have always used USM in varying degrees - I think my images always look a little soft compared to most - but I kind of like them that way - I use a lot of different filters in OOTB that I usually like better than the base image. I didn't like the way this image looked using USM so I tried Topaz Adjust Mild Details and lowered the opacity of the layer until I got what I liked. I tried it on some other images of Skimmers and used it in combination with slight USM also.
Kerry - I'd like to know how you sharpen your images although I know your base images are way sharper than mine so maybe it wouldn't be the way for me to go.