Hello there,I'd be most curious to hear your thoughts on this sampling of a murmuration. Ah, starlings...one of the more common birds around but they've got good tricks! What you see here is very close to the original shot. I adjusted the white balance and contrast a little bit. Some mild cloning too. Many thanks in advance for your comments and ideas and suggestions and taunts and jeers!
Last edited by Jack Breakfast; 03-26-2012 at 03:15 PM.
One thought: some of these birds have been caught in better poses than others. I could eliminate the baddies and do some serious cloning of the goodies. That would be one obvious trick that might make for a spiffier image. Otherwise, I like it. Sorry to be obnoxious and self-critique...I await your words...
I like the composition. A lot. It sounds like you didn't disrupt the pattern of birds in Photoshop, and it works very well in terms of divine proportions. The colors work well together, and the gradient in the sky is a good thing.
Dennis, many thanks for your kind comments. You're quite right, I left the birds alone. Briefly I had the idea of disrupting them and making patterns, but I've since thought the better of it. Best to leave these murmurations be, I think.
Jack, I see some halos around a couple of the birds toward the top. I might run some NR on the BG if it were mine. The two at the top edge seem to pull my eye, I might crop a sliver off the top and clean up the edges. Nice inclusion of the tree and getting a pleasing group shot is not easy. I like the gradient in the sky too. Nice job!
Like it as shot, with the few touch ups that Denise caught. Only change if you are going into Photoshop to make a creation from this would be to put a single white seagull or other small white bird in the group. But that would require changing the vision from what you shot.
I wouldn't remove any due to their pose however, as that makes it more realistic. It doesn't have to be "perfect" as the flight pattern was what it was. If it were one bird flying upside down or something like that ... But they are all doing their thing.
Thanks again folks...I made a few changes here and would love your opinions. A question for you, Denise: regarding the halos...when I stare at the image I see little white outlines on all the black birds and wonder if that's a trick of the eyes or perhaps some kind of dastardly effect from processing? I shouldn't stare at photos like this but I can't help myself...your thoughts and opinions are truly appreciated by y.t.
Eliminating the clipped birds along the edges made a substantial difference -- more than I might've expected. Good move.
I really hadn't noticed the halos in the original post, but I do, now. Even if I stare at the second one, they don't appear to be there. That's puzzling because it sounds like you didn't do anything intentionally or otherwise that would've affected halos. Hmmm.
Dennis, thanks. I actually did go back to the original and I took it easier with the exposure and levels (this photo was seriously underexposed by y.t. and boy do I regret it) and also I didn't sharpen the thing in the end...perhaps that's why...sorry, I should have mentioned that!
A pleasant murmuration
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