MOTIF: Atlantic Puffin - 1st Post


Posted by Gary Axten on Fri Sep 26, 2003 7:29 pm

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©Gary Axten

Hi all,
Time to stop lurking and post ! :D

Canon 1D 300mm F4 + 1.4x converter. 1/800th sec @ F8. No Flash.

This image was taken on Skomer Island Wales in July, I remember a comment someone made (about another photo, not mine) wondering how they manage to hold the fish at the back of their mouth, I hope this image is clear enough to show the ridges inside their mouth.

This image was converted using the Canon utility, I have now realised my photoshop skills from a few years ago have completely vanished & I have a lot to learn. I've also just downloaded a trial of Capture one.

Image is posted full frame, I played with cropping, then decided you guys could suggest something better.

Hope you like it, I could also post a close up of the ridges if anyone is interested.

Edit: Forgot to mention, please be brutally honest, that's the best way to learn. Reposts welcome. I realise it's a bit soft, the original is on my Powerbook & it seems much sharper & ontrasty there, I'm not sure if thats a laptop thing or a PC/Mac thing.

I tried Sandys' sharpening method, but it didn't seem to make any difference except under the beak area.
Gary Axten
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by Dennis Olivero on Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:14 pm
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Gary
Thanks for posting in Avian at NatureScapes. Glad to have you aboard. Puffins are really neat birds, I hope to have a chance on them again in the future. You held the exposure on the money in what looks like some challenging light, whites are white white but still have detail. I'm thinking the white highlights in the background are other puffins.. They catch my eye and I would want to compare one image like this and another with those toned down or cloned out just to see which I like. On the wish list, nictating membrane up allowing better view of eye. Not much you can do about that. When the mouth opens wide, the third eyelid frequently goes down. Great behavior and very nice mouth detail. Again welcome to the forum and keep 'em coming... Warning: Addictive.
[b]Dennis Olivero[/b]
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by NDCheryl on Fri Sep 26, 2003 8:16 pm
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Gary,

Very nice first post. Great behaviour shot. I wish the eye were more vicible but I really like the open mouth.
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by Alan Murphy on Fri Sep 26, 2003 10:15 pm
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Gary,

Welcome to NSN and thanks for posting. The posture is incredible. The eye looks dead to me, even though its natural. The highlights do distract a bit in the BG but do give a sense of its habitat. Some sharpening would make this pop. Cool image.
Alan Murphy
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by E.J. Peiker on Fri Sep 26, 2003 10:19 pm
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Welcome aboard! Its a cool shot but the Nictating membrane covering the eye is a detractor.
 

by Jim Probst on Fri Sep 26, 2003 11:13 pm
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Gary,

I really like the way you captured the Puffin with its mouth open! Nice work!
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by ajhand on Sat Sep 27, 2003 10:41 am
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Gary:

I'm glad to get a look inside that mouth. I can see how those ridges would help, but I still don't understand why they don't drop one fish while opening wide to catch another.

If Sandy's USM trick didn't work, there's only one explanation: Sharpening won't do anything for an image, or parts of an image that aren't pretty sharp to begin with.

aj
 

by Juli Wilcox on Sat Sep 27, 2003 2:20 pm
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Hi Gary---interesting behavioral shot of the beak and eye covering. That really shows how that eye protective function works. Re: USM---After converting using the Canon Utility, go to Image>Mode and change from 16 Bits/Channel to 8 Bits/Channel. Then apply USM. Some of the filters will only work in 8 Bits/Channel Mode. If you do this and it works, please feel free to repost within this thread. Welcome to NSN!
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by Sandy Mossberg on Sat Sep 27, 2003 4:44 pm
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Fascinating action and nice shot. The white spots in the BG and the visibility of the nictitating membrane are the two drawbacks. BTW, the correct term is nictitating not nictating membrane - at least that's what my comparative anatomy professor taught me about 53 years ago.
Sandy Mossberg
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by Gary Axten on Sat Sep 27, 2003 6:14 pm
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Thanks for the kind words.

I took many pics of Puffins & almost all of the open mouth shots had the nictitating membrane over the eye. This is the best one for the mouth ridges.

The background highlights are flowers. I'll post another once I've worked on it some more.
Gary Axten
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by Mike Wilson on Sun Sep 28, 2003 10:21 pm
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This one gave me a laugh. Welcome and a great shot.
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by Anthony Medici on Tue Sep 30, 2003 6:11 pm
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I have to agree with the others before me. Wonderful timing on the capture. Great action.
Tony
 

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