Birds on a perch + repost

One last favorite from this past February, when it was freezing, raining and snowing all at the same time! The image quality has a lot to be desired, however, I still love it. The way the doves (white winged, I believe) are huddled together, the way the one in the middle has his eye on me and yes, I love the very soft focus/feel. I was, understandable, inside looking out when I saw these doves. Took the shot through a double paned glass with a screen on it. . . resulting in ghosting and all sort of distortions.
original:

repost:

Cropped 2:3, adjustment layers in PS to lighten the birds and a vignette to darken some of the lighter spots in the background.
Nikon D7200, f/6.3, 1/800 sec., ISO 500 @250mm, tripod

Love to hear how you respond to my friends here!
Cheeers,
Linda

2 Likes

Very opportune catch here Linda. I like the composition, depth of field, perch and collection of poses. I think the soft feeling is okay. The background works really well.

I quite like the way this turned out Linda. It is soft in some places, but I think that helps add to the peaceful mood you captured. I only have two small suggestions; the first is to crop or clone out the bright area along the left edge and the second is trying to do something with the end of the limb on the right. The mottled BG works beautifully with the colors of the doves. Nicely done!

Thanks so much, @David_Schoen and @Ed_Lowe for your kind thoughts. I agree about the bright spot on the left, Ed. Actually did tone it down a bit, but like your idea about just cloning it. Not sure what is going on with the limb on the right since that perch it connected to a long branch. Definitely going to check that out. Thanks again.
Cheers!

Very cute, Linda! And for what you had to shoot through it turned out good! I especially like the poses and how they’re all cuddled together on the branch.

Thanks, @Vanessa_Hill for your kind thoughts.

1 Like

In terms of appeal, this has a lot going for it even if the technicals are a bit wonky. The repeating pattern of the birds and their fluffiness and that they’re all posed slightly differently is quite interesting and makes me smile. The background conveys cold pretty well as do the fluffed up feathers.

But more importantly it makes me think about some things that have happened to photography with the advent of digital and sophisticated processing software - perfection and the pursuit and perception thereof. A year or two ago I picked up a book about corvids (crows, ravens & jays) that was from the 1990s and so every photo in it was shot on film. Nothing was perfect, but all had a realism that was arresting and obvious in a way that modern photography doesn’t have. We always wonder at the processing. Well, we photographers do, and unless it’s here or another forum that discloses techniques, we speculate how the scene looked IRL. With this photo, I don’t. While it is artistic in the way you’ve handled the exposure and the processing, it’s also documentarian in the sense that it isn’t ‘perfect’. And that has an excitement that is valuable. So I purchased and am reading another nature book, this time about flora and fauna in rainforests around the globe. It was published in the mid 2000s and shot entirely with film. There is just something wonderful about that in so many ways.

Ok. I’ll shut up now.

Thanks so much, @_Kris for sharing your thoughts. Must admit, when I was watching these doves, not once was I thinking about the background or what I might do in post processing. I was just enjoying watching band together against the cold. Isn’t nature amazing! Thanks

2 Likes

Linda, the softness and glow added by the layers of glass make this nicely moody, a bit chilly but very peaceful. I’m guessing that the perch limb makes a sharp bend back behind the birds. Heavy burning in on the bright area can fix that, although you may need to make a local saturation adjustment to avoid crazy photoshop colors. Another option would be to clone dark background over it using a 15% opacity clone. It might take a couple of clone tries, but that will darken it while still keeping the texture.

1 Like

Thanks, @Mark_Seaver, I appreciate your time and your comments. In my repost I did do some cloning to the limb on the right side and also to the lighter areas on the right. Definitely better IMHO.
Thanks again.