Cedar on cedar

[Grace Scalzo]

From our recent vacation to Maine, a little slice of heaven right here on earth.

Thank you for looking.

1/500, f8, ISO400
1Dmk2n, 500 f4 + 2xtc (1000 mm efl)

[Rosl Roessner]

Beautiful image of a beautiful bird.
It only looks a bit soft to me.

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks, Rosl. I agree it does look a little soft as posted, yet my optimized image does not. NOt sure why.

[Stephen Stephen]

Grace lovely image here. The raised crest adds a touch more character to this bird. I like the background and the head turn as well although some may likely say that a few more degrees towards you would have been better.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks, Rosl. I agree it does look a little soft as posted, yet my optimized image does not. Not sure why.

Is your optimized file sharpened???

How are you viewing it?

More to come...

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Love the composition Grace and the raised crest as Stephen mentioned really adds to this capture. Beautiful capture with a very striking pose. Thanks for sharing.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Nice pose,bg and composition,
it looks a bit soft to my monitor!

[Laura Hughes]

Most of my CWW's seem to perch in the stratosphere, you have a nice angle and back view plumage is wonderful

[Grace Scalzo]

THanks, Everyone for your comments.
Artie, I do sharpen my optimized files. I remember that you don't, but I only use them to post on my website, so I sharpen them for that purpose.
You ask how I am viewing my image..., I don't know what you mean. I view them in photoshop. (With my glasses on. LOL)
Went back to this one, and sharpened some more, it looks better now to my eye. May I repost?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

You could post the altered version by replying to your own thread. It's always great to see the difference a repost can make. Great perch, light and BG.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Grace, I am still confused. It sounds as if you are sharpening your full sized optimized files and then downsizing them. Is that correct?

Reposts are always welcome on BPN.

[Grace Scalzo]

Yes, Artie. I prepare my images with whatever PS adjustment are necessary, levels, s/h, whatever, then sharpen them, then convert to srgb, save them. THen I open the saved file, apply a bit more sharpening if warranted, then put in my signature (as I don't like it sharpened), save again. There probably are multiple flaws with this, thanks for your insights.

[Linda Robbins]

I would like to see the sharpened version of this image as it is soft as shown. Love the great rear view of the plumage and the raised crest. The dark bg sets off the bird well and the cedar perch is pretty. A few degrees more head turn would have been desirable.

[Arthur Morris]

Yes, Artie. I prepare my images with whatever PS adjustment are necessary, levels, s/h, whatever, then sharpen them, then convert to srgb, save them. THen I open the saved file, apply a bit more sharpening if warranted, then put in my signature (as I don't like it sharpened), save again. There probably are multiple flaws with this, thanks for your insights.

Hi Grace,

I am still a bit confused... When you say I prepare my images.... then sharpen them and covnert to sRGB, are you working on small JPEGs or on the full resolution TIFFs? (Sorry to be a pain but the answer to that is vital to you getting the help that you need...) Thanks!

[Grace Scalzo]

Hi Artie, thanks for your persistance. I first sharpen the full resolution Tiff , then resize it for the web, save it as a jpeg and sharpen it again if needed.

[Arthur Morris]

OK. Here we go. It is absolutley wrong to sharpen your full sized TIFF master files. No digital image should be sharpened until it is sized for final usage. I save my optimized master file. If we need to make a print, we open the master file, duplicate the image, close the master file, size the image to the print size and then sharpen the image. The larger the print (and the larger the file size), the more sharpening the image will need. Need a large j-peg for slide programs, downsize the copy, sharpen to taste, and then save. Same for a small j-peg. An 11 X 16 priint might need sharpening in the range of 450%, .8 (or more). A large jpeg, 325, .3. A small jpeg, 225, .25.

And there is a huge difference in sharpening for print versus sharpening for the web. When sharpening for print, your sized file should look over-sharpened (to allow for the ink soaking into paper). When sharpening for web, you want to sharpen without any apparenet over-sharpening... What you see is what you want...

If you sharpen your master file and then downsize it, the image should theoretically be well over-sharpened. You are the second person here in two days who states that they sharpen their master files and then downsize for the web (yet whose jpegs looked soft...) I have no explanation for that, but best to do it right and learn to sharpen for a given size...

BTW, all of the above info is contained in both Digital Bascis and in the Digital Workflow chapter of ABP II.

(Aside from capture sharpening, which is a whole other can of worms), the only time that a master file should be sharpened at all is when the eyes or the face are selectively sharpened a small bit.

OK, now I can get to the image. I love the bird and the cedar and the BKGR. And love your framing of the cedar bough. The head turn is good but a few degrees short of perfect. And yes, the whole bird could stand a good round of selective sharpening. You paint a QM of the bird, and sharpen only that layer. This avoids sharpening any noise that is present in the background... The beauty of using a QM is the seamless blending--you do not have to worry much about painting exactly between the lines...

I sharpened only the bird at 228, .3, 1 and then lightened the whole thing a bit as jpegs tend to get darker when they are re-saved. Hope that you like.

[Grace Scalzo]

Artie, this looks so nice now after you worked on it.. I understand now, and thank you for getting to the bottom of this. I really have picked up alot of bad habits along the way, and appreciate your help in breaking them more than you know.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Grace, You are most welcome. I like my work so much that I copied the thread to Educational Resources.