I captured this image last year at Ft. Desoto County Park in Pinellas County, Florida. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.
Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED HH
1/3200 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 800 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 400mm
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2020 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Joe, I know sharpness is a touchy subject here sometimes but this one seems less sharp to me than others - esp compared to the superb quality of many of your shots.
Love the position of the fish but unfortunately it is not sharp.
Would have been fantastic had it been sharp.
Might be worth trying the new Topaz AI sharpen plug-in. You can get a free download for 30 days. I have used it twice on images that were sharp but not "TACK' sharp and it saved the day. This may be a bit too blurry to save but worth a try,
Gail
Hi Joe, agree with the others, if this was 'pin sharp' it would be a real winner, especially with the fish, however, it's not sharp and no software can bring it back sadly.
TFS
Steve
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting. I checked the position of the active focus point, dead center on the bird. So then I went back to the image, I was conservative on sharpening so I did a do over. I also think the bird and fish being wet changes the appearance of the sharpening. Here is the edit and a repost.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Hi Joe, I still feel it's not quite there, are you doing any pre sharpening in LR, you know how to watch for Halos. Drop me a line with amounts and what you are doing, did you get my last email?
Post Production: It’s ALL about what you do with the tools and not, which brand of tool you use.
Joe great capture as for the sharpness,I agree with not being sharp. I have some images of Ibis that when they bring up the submerged head they are not sharp either on the head. My question is does the water effect the sharpness and displace the quality? I know on my images you can see a layer of water over the head. TFS
I like the pose and the fish, light and all else. the re post is better but it is still not sharp :) . focus point being on the bird doesn't mean that the camera necessarily locked focus on the bird or if the raw was sharp at all
Joe great capture as for the sharpness,I agree with not being sharp. I have some images of Ibis that when they bring up the submerged head they are not sharp either on the head. My question is does the water effect the sharpness and displace the quality? I know on my images you can see a layer of water over the head. TFS
Hi Kevin, thank you for viewing and commenting. I think you are on to the reason the image appears soft. The bird and fish were wet. The tern had just surfaced with the fish and was beginning to fly away. I had not thought of that but that now explains it to me, wet feathers and fish. Thanks again...
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
I like the pose and the fish, light and all else. the re post is better but it is still not sharp :) . focus point being on the bird doesn't mean that the camera necessarily locked focus on the bird or if the raw was sharp at all
TFS
Hi Arash, thank you for viewing and commenting. You're right, the vagaries of phase detect autofocus. I also think, as Kevin mentioned, that the bird and fish were soaking wet might have had something to do with the appearance of a soft image. Thanks again, Arash.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams