Well, one more for now. The loon was rescued and moved to a larger lake with the hope that a longer runway will allow it to take off and fly north. Fingers crossed it has a successful journey. It’s been a real treat to have it here.
Every now and then, the loon would come very close. This is a near full frame head shot.
In post, I removed a very strong green cast, added some contrast with curves/levels, sharpened the bird, and reduced noise on the background. All C&C welcome.
Specific Feedback Requested
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D850
700mm, hand held
ISO 500
1/160
f/8
Ah gorgeous and I’m glad it can have a chance to move along. I volunteer for a wildlife rescue & rehabilitation group and we often are on the lookout for loons that have landed on black ice - whether a paved surface or water. They can’t take off without water and are grounded.
With regard to the green cast…I think you went to far the other way and now the bird’s black plumage looks pink/magenta. The whites are a little hot, too. Did you clip them? So easy to do with these birds, but if you expose for the blacks (which also look like they could come down on the bird’s back) you should get them reasonably good.
This is a great portrait. I can only hope to get this close to one. Maybe when one pops up next to my kayak when I least expect it. Not that that’s ever happened and I feared dropping my camera or anything!
Yeah, there was a bit of magenta in the darks. Good catch. I selected a darks mask and added +8 to the greens. Loons are the one bird that I just don’t care much about blowing whites on. Even in the shade, and even using ISO 500 on the D850, the whites on the back got a little hot when exposing for the head. I could probably tone them down a hair by going back to the RAW, but I don’t have time right now.
Very nice to get so close, and I’m glad for the rescue! I think the image is well worth revisiting the raw file, as the bird is very underexposed and quite blue. The Shadows and Highlights sliders might bring up a bit more detail, too.
Here’s a very quick attempt but not much I can do with the tonal issues set in concrete in the jpeg. Interestingly, just the color correction attempt brought up the exposure, visually and according to the histogram.
A beautiful portrait of the Loon, Lyle. I do see the Magenta cast in the darks, but I don’t think Diane’s version works for me-it seems much too brown for this bird. You probably could have gone just a bit further in the repost, but I don’t think it needs much.
Love loons and always enjoy seeing them when camping in the ADKs. My hope is to someday see one carrying a chick on its back. This is a great head shot, regardless of any color cast, and you’ve captured the bird’s true character. Thanks for sharing!
Oh how cool! I hope it makes it to where it belongs. I saw one on the river this morning, but oddly didn’t hear it. Usually they greet the dawn with their haunting cries and I love waking up and listening to them before starting my day.
