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Thread: Forster's Tern preening (formerly Arctic tern preening)

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Default Forster's Tern preening (formerly Arctic tern preening)

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    Canon 1D MK IV
    F 500mm
    ISO 200
    F 7.1
    SS 1/800
    Crop by 25% from bottom and RHS and slight rotation.
    Processed in LR3 and very minor beach cleanup and sharpening in CS5. I also did some eye doctoring.
    Comments and critiques are always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
    Gail

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Gail:

    Glad you made it home safely. It is always a pleasure to meet fellow BPN members in person.

    Unusual subject placement works well here because of the pose. like the orange bits in the shells that match the legs. Good shooting angle. Like the timing to capture feather in bill. I usually miss that!

    The light is so soft, that I expect the catchlight was added. I might make it just a bit softer to match the light.

    Looking forward to more from your recent travels!

    Cheers

    Randy
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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Randy Stout View Post
    Gail:

    Glad you made it home safely. It is always a pleasure to meet fellow BPN members in person.

    Unusual subject placement works well here because of the pose. like the orange bits in the shells that match the legs. Good shooting angle. Like the timing to capture feather in bill. I usually miss that!

    The light is so soft, that I expect the catchlight was added. I might make it just a bit softer to match the light.

    Looking forward to more from your recent travels!

    Cheers

    Randy
    Hi Randy,
    Believe it or not I didn't add the catchlight. The eye was a cloudy grey so I darkened it with curves as taught by Robert. Do you still think I should tone the catchlight ?
    Safe travels tomorrow and it was great to meet you,
    Gail

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    BPN Viewer Dave Leroy's Avatar
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    I like the nice and unusual pose. Composition looks good to me and pebbly beach and shells are a very nice touch.

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    Hi Gail, I'm going to be the "odd woman out" on this one as the composition does not work for me. This is probably just a quirk of mine but when a bird is in an unusual pose, and is going to come back to rest at some point, I always like to leave room for that. My eye and head demand it. So in this case if he brought his head back to its usual position, it would be out of the frame. I am claustrophobic to some extent and I think for that reason I like space and room in my pics. Plus, what's the point of all that room on the left (as viewed)? How's this for a critique? I know we're supposed to say what we don't like and why, just my 2cents.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grace Scalzo View Post
    Hi Gail, I'm going to be the "odd woman out" on this one as the composition does not work for me. This is probably just a quirk of mine but when a bird is in an unusual pose, and is going to come back to rest at some point, I always like to leave room for that. My eye and head demand it. So in this case if he brought his head back to its usual position, it would be out of the frame. I am claustrophobic to some extent and I think for that reason I like space and room in my pics. Plus, what's the point of all that room on the left (as viewed)? How's this for a critique? I know we're supposed to say what we don't like and why, just my 2cents.
    Grace,
    Never be shy when critiquing my shots!I know that I can always count on your honesty and that is priceless. I will now go and try your idea for composition and see if i like it,
    Gail

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    Thanks for this reply Gail....it mean alot to be able to say what I think and have it accepted for just that. I feel the same way about your critiques and really all that I receive here. This is what makes this forum so valuable.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Nice pose caught here. I agree with Grace, The bird is not really looking back (or left), so I would also
    move the bird to the left side.
    The IQ is superb.
    Dan Kearl

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Gail:

    Well, if it were mine, I might go tighter on the left, but I am OK with the right side. I get Grace's point, but it doesn't effect me the same way. Will be curious what others think, as composition allows for much personal expression.

    Cheers

    Randy
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    Gail,
    Great bird, exp and pose. Although he is preening over the shoulder I would still put him more central in the frame as I feel the left and top side are too "empty". Catch light is fine with me.

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Here is a repost with Grace's idea. I think Grace wins!! I like this better.

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    Oh my gosh, Gail. I love it. Great pose, some room to stretch into, really sweet.

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    Lifetime Member Stu Bowie's Avatar
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    Hi Gail, hope you had fun on your trip and learnt lots. Good low perspective, and I do like the light, sharpness and the feather detail. Well timed to capture the preening pose too. Comp wise, reading through the various suggestions, Randy's repost looks good, and Grace's does make sense and does work even better.

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    Excellent pose, low angle and sharpness.
    I too would have composed it as you did in the OP, but I too feel that your repost is the best.

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    Morning Gail.
    Cheers to the beautiful pose you have got here. Superb low angle shot sharp and sweet. Was it on mid day ?
    Surprise why i see a need of little CCW ?

    BTW you have done a great job on processing
    THE OP with adding a bit of space on right cutting the same on left would really be more sense to my choice of selection for comp.

    Ofcourse you need a bit NR ?

    Seems you had real fun with randy and expect to see some beautiful images coming days :)

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    Gail, I agree with Grace and your re-post. Is it possible to darken the throat part a bit?
    Howeever, as it is, its looking great.
    By the way, where did you shoot it?
    Last edited by PRABIR BHATTACHARYYA; 02-17-2012 at 07:45 AM.

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    Super Moderator Daniel Cadieux's Avatar
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    I like these types of images that elicit deferring opinions. I personally prefer the OP and Randy's posts, but can see why some would prefer the one in pane #11. I love the feather firlmy pinched between the mandibles. Lots of nice details, super exposure, and the orange-speckled shell is perfect! I also see a need for some CCW rotation judgionig from the in-focus band in the sand (which is lower on the right).

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    I'm with Daniel. Compositionally I far prefer the original post. In all of them, a bit more head rotation towards us would have been idea: "images of preening birds usually work best with the bird's head and face perfectly parallel to the imaging sensor." I think that I said that just last week.

    Love the original image design. And the feather in the bill timing. Just a bit lower would have been perfect so that the horizon line would have been behind the bird's body.

    Where? It sort of looks familiar?
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    Lifetime Member Marina Scarr's Avatar
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    Love this image and the behavior portrayed. When I saw the OP, something didn't quite work for me although I loved the behavior. Now that I have read what Grace had to say and seen the repost with her suggestions, I absolutely love it. Normally, I would not have thought to crop in this fashion but it works here. Agree lower may even have been better, but that's not always possible. Love the shells in the FG which really add interest and agree on a slight CCW based on bird's feet also.

    Sorry I missed you on your visit here.
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    Gail, this is going to come down to personal preference. Common dilemma when bird is parallel but in a look-back pose.

    between the two, I like the orig comp. But if mine, I'd probably go somewhere in between but close to OP. if the bird's body is facing one way and the head the other way, I do like some space in the direction the body is facing. I usually place the bird a bit off center but not too off-center.

    Some prefer room on the other side( like your OP) as the lines (due to feathers) and the line-of-sight of the bird point to that side. I am guessing that is why Artie is preferring the OP.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    I agree that these types of discussions are great, and really gets one to thinking.

    For me, all the mass of the image is in the birds breast and head area, while all the lines of the wings, tail and bill move the eye towards the upper left. Those factors suggested to me the crop that I presented. I was Ok with the original as well, but wanted to see what playing up the diagonal flow of the lines by cropping from the top would do.

    Cheers

    Randy
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    BTW, the bird is a winter or basic plumage Forster's Tern, probably a first winter. Arctic Tern is a super-rarity on Florida pelagic trips. Not sure if there are any records of one on a beach in my home state. If there is, it would be an injured bird and would not have the eye patch :).
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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    BTW, the bird is a winter or basic plumage Forster's Tern, probably a first winter. Arctic Tern is a super-rarity on Florida pelagic trips. Not sure if there are any records of one on a beach in my home state. If there is, it would be an injured bird and would not have the eye patch :).
    Hi Artie,
    I really have to go to ornithology classes!! feel free to amend the title!!
    Gail

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    another great image Gail. The little shell with the orange detail adds a lot to this one. I liked it with a little more room in front.

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    Wonderful shot Gail. Great low angle, excellent timing, superb feather detail, and I really like the shells on the beach. As for the comp I personally like the one in pane 11. To me it just feels better.
    Either way... Wonderful image.
    Well done.

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by gail bisson View Post
    Hi Artie, I really have to go to ornithology classes!! feel free to amend the title!! Gail
    Done. And corrected the typo (Artic) as well .
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