Eastern Towhee

[Paul Lagasi]

One day this week, it didn't rain and I went to my local spot to see if the Eastern Towhee's had return. The male showed up but didn't see the female. I had some good opportunities, this bird is very tolerant of people. Towhees are not very common in this part of Ontario, knowing where to look, can greatly improve your chances.

I had to do some serious cloning to rebuild the tail, and remove some out-of-focus brush in the bottom left hand corner.

Ran it through Nik Color effects...I really like the results...What do you think?

Added texture with CS5.

Thanks for looking

[Paul Lagasi]

Here is original before effects.... and cloning work to rebuild tail..

[Julie Kenward]

Nice clone work, Paul! I like the OP but feel the brown BG feels a little flat next to that bright bird. Did you try to lighten/brighten it at all? I love everything else about the image!

[Kerry Perkins]

Paul, you are a PS superhero! I like the image a lot and I love the towhees. We have a similar bird down here - the spotted towhee. Nice job on the cloning and the painting!

[denise ippolito]

Paul, great job with the background. I do wish that some of the bird's whites were still white but it does look like a painting. Love the pose and the original capture.

[John Storjohann]

Paul, nicely done...great capture...have you thought about adding a slight (very slight) vignette to the corners? I do like the suggestion RE the whites...nicely done!

[Indranil Sircar]

Beautiful composition, Paul. Love the pose and the raised crown... almost like asking you a question I too wish for the whites on the bird. Very nice painting effect and processing.

[Mark Fuge]

Very nice image and application, Paul.

Nice capture and I like the BG. Nice clone work as well.

What happened to the froggies?

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Paul, very nice processing and nice fix-it job with the tail. I see what Julie means about the background in the OP. Original capture is nice as well. Crazy weather around here lately...hopefully spring will return again soon

[Mitch Carucci]

Great expression! I like the brown textured background. It provides a subtle contrast to the Towhee.