From the trip with Kristen on Lake Pleasant. We encountered a lot of Grebes and a few gave us good poses. The boat may have been rocking at times but the wind was blessedly calm, making for nice water.
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All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, 100-500 + 1.4X at 700. ISO 800, 1/2000 at f/10. Minor tonal adjustments in LR, with the linear profile to maximize detail in the whites. Into PS for NR and some minor cloning of the water, to minimize the darker area above the head and fade out the reflection at the bottom. About a 50% crop.
Oooh what a sweetie. Great water movement and detail for sure. Maybe a little too much exposure in the head/face? It was bright though. They’re such cute little things. Pretty agreeable, too.
Nice job on this grebe, Diane. I like the water and it looks like you managed a pretty low angle. I agree with Kris that it seems a bit washed out, but that might just be winter plumage.
A nice-looking image of this Western Grebe. Excellent detail on the plumage. I like the composition. You can probably increase the contrast on the head and neck and get more detail. I would do it selectively. In any case, these are always difficult exposures.
Thanks, @Kris_Smith, @Dennis_Plank and @David_Schoen. Some of them did seem a little lighter than the others, but I’m not that familiar with how their coloration might vary. This image did seem a little unbalanced though, so I did a TK Darks 3 and lightened the body and water around it a bit, then darkened the rest of the image. (Posted above.) Also did a slight gradient darkening at the bottom and lightening at the top. Any better? I think so but maybe a little flat now…?
Thanks, @Kris_Smith – you’re right. The rework was bothering me in that the midtones got muddy. I should isolate the bird and just work on it. Will try again. I have another one in the queue with similar lighting (I think) and I’ll see how it works out first.
