Spectacled Owl & Repost

Image Critiques
1

Repost: Added brightness in Owl, a boost to contrast and a bit of dehaze. All in LR

-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit-2
-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit-21522×2048 1.62 MB

Original:

-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit.jpg
-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit.jpg1522×2048 1.54 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

After seeing Sandy’s image of this species a while back, it was in the back of my mind to go back and process one of the images I took in 2022 with the more up-to-date software. I think it worked much better than the image I processed back then.

Specific Feedback

In addition to the modern noise reduction, the bird was brightened considerably and the background darkened a bit as well. Did this create an anomalies that you notice?

Technical Details

Sony A1, FE 200-600 + 1.4 TC @ 840 mm, monopod, f/9, 1/250, iso 6400. Noise reduction in DxO PureRaw 4 then to LR for cropping, pulling up shadows and pulling down highlights. Thence to PS for some local clean-up work, micro-contrast enhancement of the bird, increasing brightness of the bird and reducing same for the background. Back to LR for some absolute final touch-up with the local adjustment brush and export. Original image taken April 22nd, 2022.

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2 Likes
3

A lovely find with excellent sharpness and detail. The light int he bird is a bit flat and I think you have a lot of leeway to bring it up. Here’s a simple soft-edged quick mask and curves to brighten the bird and another one to add some vignette. The bright BG is tricky to tone down and it may look too artificial.

-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit-DDM
-20220422-_A1_5600-Costa Rica-ARW-Edit-DDM1522×2048 761 KB

2 Likes
4

Thanks, @Diane_Miller. I like what you did to the bird, but I think I’d skip the vignette. I want the image to convey the bright background as well as the bird. I’ll play with it and do a repost.

5

This is a really nice owl image Dennis. Nice job getting the detail and controlling the color, light and shadows from a tough initial shot. It is amazing what the current software will do for us. I like what @Diane_Miller did for the bird to lighten it up a bit more. I can understand your desire to keep the BG authentic too.

6

Hi Dennis, repost is perfect. The owl pops from the BG and the comp works nicely for this guy. I hope this one gets framed and up on the wall…Jim

7

The repost is great. A beautiful owl shown in fine detail and the background complements the owl nicely.