Shot yesterday in the last of the light, which was flat and dull, as evidenced here. 7D, 70-300L at 269mm, f5.6, 1/500, iso800. I will admit to you that I cloned out a stick! I did! I've never done such things before! What say you to that? Was my cloning work disgusting and poorly executed? Tell me; I can take it! Anyhow, I was very fond of the eider's pose. To think what he'll look like in a matter of months...anyhow, the image was cropped, given a levels tweak & USM. Not the greatest IQ, obviously, but I'm not too concerned about that in this case. Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions, which are always appreciated by y.t.
Last edited by Jack Breakfast; 03-11-2012 at 01:59 PM.
I don't see any tell marks of stick removal unless in very top right corner and that is kind of a guess. Nice pose from bird but would prefer a lower angle.
Thanks Dave...no sticks there...I think I did alright on this one...which is exciting for me, I guess. I too would have preferred a lower angle but the fine duck was ashore for only seconds...a lousy mutt scared him and the others away...
Jack, it is a wonderful pose, I agree with you. I'm not a fan of the composition and think that a vertical would enhance the pose as well as get rid of some of that uninteresting (In my opinion) gravel stuff. The other thing that I think is lacking here is some good light. Low angle would have helped too. I realize that it's hard to get everything lined up in the same image, but something we all continue to strive for.
Hi Jack, there is nothing wrong in cloning if your personally are ok with it, and you disclose what you removed. In this, I cant see any eveidence of your cloning, so well done there. Studying your image, and before reading Grace's comment, she pretty much covered the two main points - a vertical comp is the only way to go, and exposure, which you can still try and achieve in your pp work. Good DOF for F/5.6 BTW.
I certainly agree with you folks RE the vertical comp...in this case the only appealing thing about the image is the bird himself, seen here in a less-than-typical pose. Obviously you're also right about the light and the angle but in this case there was nothing I could have done about either of those things. I have images of the duck in beautiful light, but he only came to shore the one time...so far...but your composition suggestion is a helpful one, folks, and I certainly appreciate that. I'm including the new comp. here and then I'll put this substandard image to rest. I am delighted to see that I'm on the right track RE cloning...
Hey, Jack, just so you know, in my book, this image is far from "substandard" as it is an interesting behavior and pose. I have lots that are WAY more "substandard" than this one sitting on my hard drive. And I like your new composition.