Tree Swallow On A Stick - First Post TO This Gallery

Posted by Neil Donaldson on Fri Sep 05, 2003 1:04 am

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It is a little intimidating posting to this gallery. All you avian shooters are great. I am new to birding and bird photography. I decided to expand my horizons because of all the good birding spots near home. Be brutal - I'm here to learn.

San Joaquin Wildlife Santuary, Irvine, CA
Nikon F100
300 2.8
Bogen 3221, Kirk BH-1 w/Wimberly Sidekick
Provia 100F

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by Neil Fitzgerald on Fri Sep 05, 2003 1:30 am

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You started off with a nice one. If I was to be brutal I would say a little more DOF would help (so the rear foot is more in focus), maybe a bit more room below the tail, and a less plain background. But that is being more critical than I normally would.
Keep it up.

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by Neil Solomon on Fri Sep 05, 2003 9:58 am

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I agree with the previous DOF comment and the whites seem overexposed (at least on my monitor). I like the background and the feather iridescence that you captured. Good first effort.

Neil Solomon
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by Alan Melle on Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:28 am

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No need to be intimidated about posting images like this in the gallery. More DOF is the main thing that would elevate this image. Very nice!

Alan Melle
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by Harvey Edelman on Fri Sep 05, 2003 10:37 am

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Just needs a bit more DOF IMHO for the tail. Other than that, well taken and seen.

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by matt kuchta on Fri Sep 05, 2003 6:06 pm

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Super BG. A bit more DOF would have brought it out a little more, but you captured the irridescence well.
-matt

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by Alan Murphy on Fri Sep 05, 2003 7:19 pm

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Great first post Neil

Welcome to NSN. Look forward to more.

Alan Murphy
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by Sandy Mossberg on Sat Sep 06, 2003 9:43 am

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Fine first post, Neil. You've captured the iridescence very well. 1/3 less EV might have prevented the hot whites. I agree with the above comments on more DOF. I look forward to seeing your next post.

Sandy Mossberg
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by Bruce Sherman on Sat Sep 06, 2003 11:18 am

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Hi Neil,
Welcome. Very nice first post. I remember my first post on the web very well. If my first post had been this nice I would have been very happy.

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by Jim Probst on Sun Sep 07, 2003 2:05 am

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Neil,

I like the pose and the beautiful background. Very nice work!

Jim Probst
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by Anthony Medici on Sun Sep 07, 2003 2:34 pm

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I agree with the DOF comments. It might be easier to give you good feedback if you told us how much you cropped the image and how hard it was to scan it to your liking too.

Tony

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by Neil Donaldson on Sun Sep 07, 2003 6:44 pm

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Tony,

I cropped just slightly from the left and top. The scan on the coolscan 4000 was easy. The historgram was bunched slightly to the left of the midtones With no spikes in the highlights or shadows. In PS7, I only lightened the midtones a bit and applied USM.

Thanks for any feedback

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by Juan A. Pons on Mon Sep 08, 2003 3:07 pm

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Very nice start indeed. This is a beatiful image. I would have liked to have seen more DOF, and the whites are a bit hot, but that is something you should be able to fix to some extent in Photoshop.

Juan A. Pons
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by Heather Forcier on Tue Sep 09, 2003 4:11 pm

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Sorry I missed this first post! I like that you caught the irridescence of the bird, and the little look it's giving the camera. Don't be intimidated, we are all here to learn.

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