Flame Skimmer + RP

And with the red water plants in the BG subdued a bit. I think this is an improvement:

Critique Style Requested: Standard

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Description

Still picking through yesterday’s frames and found another one I like. This is another inadvertent focus stack, with 2 adjacent frames on burst mode. One had almost everything as sharp as I could hope for, except the far wings. The previous frame had those wings sharp with virtually no movement between frames. It was easy to stack the two layers and hand mask.

Specific Feedback

All comments welcome! I felt this was leaning toward a color cast but it was shot on Daylight WB, in bright sun. Attempts to tweak WB to bring out more separation of the subject and BG didn’t work well so I left it as shot.

Technical Details

Screenshot 2024-06-12 at 12.59.10 PM

This one is full frame as shot with a very small bit added to the top. Highlights and Shadows globally in LR, into PS for Topaz Denoise (barely noticeable at this size but I like the very slight sharpening) and composite the wingtips.


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2 Likes

Ok, now you’re just showing off! :laughing:

1 Like

Definitely!! Foot problems won’t let me ski anymore and I was never good enough at tennis – I need an outlet!

1 Like

Beautiful. Love everything about it; especially the background and the wonderful colors. Nit (very , very small): is that a dust spot near the reed and lower right wing? Fantastic shot!

Sweet! perfect colors and DOF. Tack sharp, and nice BG
Fine work!

Thanks, @Jim_Gavin and @SandyR-B! Jim, I have no excuse for missing that one – and there are two others, slightly more diffuse. Consider them gone!

I did a sensor check a couple of days ago and then neglected to refer to it! That check did make me clean the back element of the TC. With the narrower gap in mirrorless bodies, dust on the back of the lens, or especially a TC, shows up as more diffuse spots and smears. Those are easy to clean. I hate to even say it, for fear of jinxing things, but I have had the R5 body for 3.5 years and I have never had to clean the sensor! With my DSLRs, wet cleaning was an almost weekly chore. I have 3 spots which have been there for a while and may be glued on by now – I shouldn’t have let them go. But it’s so easy to clean them after the fact these days. If I remember…

A real beauty, Diane. I really like your inadvertent stacks. It’s always a good idea to save some adjacent frames for those circumstances-at least until your favorite is processed. I do find the highlights on the bend of the reed just a bit distracting, but a very fine image of this beauty.

Thanks, @Dennis_Plank! You should have seen that highlight in the raw file, even after pulling Highlights way down. Then I did what I could with Nik Viveza, which is still one of my go-to tools for burning highlights. A also used it to darken the reed as it left the frame.

Reed highlights are some of my least favorite to deal with!

Diane, what a shot! Even the BG colors compliment the DF. I also like how the reed comes in and goes out of the bottom of the image. Well done.

Amazing shot, Diane. I do not think the color cast is showing too much here because the color of the subject stands out well. The angle of the stick was good. There is a white OOF area that has a sharp edge which could be a distraction right in front and below the head. One by the top wing but not really an issue. The subject stands out well, just that white half circle sticks out some.

Diane: Grand slam homer here! Terrific subject, perch and BG. Marvelous in every way. >=))>

Thanks, @Shirley_Freeman, @Dean_Salman and @Bill_Fach! Dean, I had decided not to bother with the specular highlights here simply because they were horrible in many of the other shots that day – not a good reason! But what had been bugging me about this was the amount of red in the BG – it is some sort of water plant that I’ve never seen so pervasive there. So I decided to try some careful Selective Color in the BG to mute it and while I was at it I softened the specular highlights. Thanks for the nudge! I like this version better – posted above.

I like what you did in the repost, Diane.

I also like what you did, Diane.

This takes showing off to a new level! :laughing:

Thanks, @Dennis_Plank, @Shirley_Freeman and @Kris_Smith! You’d think shooting dragonflies wouldn’t be a physically challenging sport, but next time out I’ll try to remember to get a shot of the path. It’s almost as wide as my foot and very uneven, with tufts of tough grass making hillocks on both sides, a steep muddy downslope to the water and a steep slippery cut deadgrass upslope away from the water. A faceplant would be ugly. I’ve started using the monopod as there are very limited ways to plant a tripod and no time to move it to follow action. (And my word choices betray the fact that I’m reading Cormack McCarthy again. His use of language is hypnotic.)

1 Like

And big thanks for the EP, @Bill_Fach and @Shirley_Freeman! Always such a delightful surprise!

A super job, Diane, and the subduing of red and specular highlights improved what was already near-perfect. It’s a gorgeous color, isn’t it?