Keith Reeder Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Last May I found myself in the company of this very obliging pair of European Stonechats on a coastal farm near where I live. A favourite bird for photographers thanks to their habit of perching conspicuously rather than skulking, I spent a very successful couple of hours with them: important as it is to get things right "in camera", Photo has again allowed me to really bring out the best in these images: Stonechat (male) Stonechat (female) Stonechat (male) All taken using the Canon 7D Mk II and 100-400mm + Canon Mk II 1.4x converter, 560mm handheld. The Raw files were converted in either Lightroom or Photo Ninja: editing in AP consisted of DeHaze (there was no haze, but I like what the tool does); highlight management (I'm really getting to like the Highlights filter tool); plentiful use of the Inpainting brush; selective detail enhancement in the Topaz Detail plugin; and adding some warmth with the Warmth slider in the Nik Viveza plugin. Aside from that though, these are pretty much as is - the light was superb. Franklin, Aeros4 and Chris B 3 Quote Keith Reeder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeros4 Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Now I know why I have been birding for more than sixty years. I look at photos like these and it all makes sense. This is an excellent set of very appealing little critters, enchanting. I especially like the last shot for the detail in both the bird and the the straw bail. The cropping is expertly done (too often not given enough consideration). A lovely triage, thanks for sharing :D BTW Kieth, I just got my first shot of a Pine Grosbeak yesterday, I will post it soon. I have just bought a gimbal for my 150-600 and it has opened the universe as far as being able to get shots that were hitherto impossible. Keep posting these great bird photos, I like them a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Reeder Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks, Richard. Glad you picked up on the compositional aspect - that's important to me. Even though these were actually close to "full frame" (I've got pretty good fieldcraft and was able to get satisfyingly close to the birds), I did crop the images to get a better compositional result, and as you say, many folk simply don't get the importance of compositional considerations in order to make an image more than just a snapshot. I'm a big fan of shooting hand-held (until last year I used to shoot with a Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 OS and 2x converter, and did pretty well - the Turnstone in my first post, for example), but gimbals are a God-send for long lens work - I look forward to checking the PG out! Looking again at these images, it does occur to me that the white neck feathers on the first shot are a bit grey against the white of the forum: they're spot-on in AP, but this background makes them look a bit darker than is ideal. Still, they were very "hot" off the camera, so this is a good indication of how well AP's tool can tame unruly highlights. I have noticed that it's best to move the Range slider significantly to the left before increasing the strength of the tool, to limit the global scope of the effect, but it's very good used this way... Thanks again, Richard. Quote Keith Reeder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Williams Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Gorgeous. Looks like you actually got the birds to pose :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Reeder Posted January 8, 2017 Author Share Posted January 8, 2017 Thanks, RamaBot. Stonechats are remarkably photographer-friendly: as long as you don't do anything to make them nervous, they do honestly seem as if they're happy to strike poses! Quote Keith Reeder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aeros4 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Good feedback Kieth, thanks. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancslad Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Excellent shots. I agree with the other comments about composition - to me this is a basic tool that is very much neglected. Also the hay is a perfect surround to the images. This is my first post on these forums (fora) as I recently acquired Designer and Photo when they became available for Windows. So far I am very impressed with the software, great value and I find it fun to use. Until now I mainly used LR and ON1 10, plus several others for NR etc., etc. I think I will stick with LR but use ON1 and AF for pixel work. These birds remind me of the American Redstarts I see here in Ontario - they are very friendly and will come very close but are quite active. As an ex-pat I still miss the UK birds (left 40 years ago for Canada) especially the Robin, Curlews, Magpies and Wagtails etc., (I still have The Observers Book Of Birds I won as a school prize around 1957). I noticed your link and whilst waiting for approval to post I had a quick look. It looks interesting although several of the sub-links are no longer available. I was particularly envious of your owl shot. Other than Snowy Owls which have become quite common here I have had very limited success. All the best. Well done. We also had a family vacation for a week in Blyth in the early 60s (the weather was terrible) when we were living in Consett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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