RP with a linear profile to pull out a little more from the shadows.
Original:
Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I didn’t get to the rookery until now, busy with eclipse preparations and inopportune rain. They are sitting on eggs so not a lot of action, but I did catch some decent sunrise light.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome! Shadows and highlights are always a challenge with these guys on clear days, and this morning was severe clear.
Technical Details
Handheld, so the high ISO. Shadows and highlights adjusted in LR. Cropped from the sides only, to 8x10. Into PS for Topaz Denoise. Severe Noise mode did an excellent job but left a slight smudge against the sky in a few places. Low Light mode didn’t have the smudges but didn’t clean up all the noise in the areas that had had the most brightening with the LR Shadows slider. So I did both on 2 layers and masked to get the best of each. The only color adjustment was a slight saturation punch on the head – the camera was on daylight WB.
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Sky looks great, Diane. Your post processing techniques continue to amaze me! I learn something every time I read your posts. So thanks for sharing. The lighting and detail you’ve gotten in the bird look spot on to me. I can read the definition of the wings clearly.
Very good, Diane. A great flight pose and angle. I might be tempted to bring up the shadows on the bird just a bit more to give the wings more of a translucent look, but that’s just my take. I would also be tempted to try to bring out the green in front of the eye that should be there this time of year. For some reason it looks almost gray there-may just be an odd bird.
I like the overall pose and wing position; nice wing detail and sky looks good. The stick elevates the image beyond just a bird in flight. Nice capture.
Thanks, @linda_mellor, @Dennis_Plank and @Allen_Brooks! I’m always delighted to be able to share a useful tidbit about processing – it’s such a big toolbox.
Dennis, I’ve done a RP starting over with a linear profile and then a TK mask to pull out a bit more detail in the darks. The whites are teetering on the brink but there is so much overlap is the masks, even when they are pushed with curves before using them to do a curve, that I decided to quite here. It got a little more translucency in the wingtip.
ISO 3200 has its drawbacks with dynamic range.
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That did the trick, Diane. Do you use the TK panels? Simetimes when I’m worried about highlights, I’ll use a Lights 1 or 2 minus a Lights 5 to protect them. It works pretty well for me.
