GREATER SAGE-GROUSE - FAMILY PORTRAIT

Looks like this could be a nice shot but the photo has almost no contrast. Hope you don't mind I took the liberty of correcting the image and removing the blue cast. The image has been removed from my hard drive:

Wonderful capture, I am pretty sure the slide is excellent , as scanned it lacks contrast but you know that already!!! Congrats!!

This has a Grant Wood feel to it for me. I love the poses and the birds positions in the fame. E.J.'s repost helped with the contrast issue.
Otherwise this is excellent.

james, Love all the colors and textures in this scene. You had a tough lighting situation here, If you could get the sun behind you, there would be less contrast issues. A great photo.

You've heard the comments. It's a scene I'd love to photograph.
Chip

Great scene that I don't think the scan does justice to. I'd love to see the slide. Well seen.

I, too think that you must have lost a great deal in the scan. I think it's a very interesting image.

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Looks like this could be a nice shot but the photo has almost no contrast. Hope you don't mind I took the liberty of correcting the image and removing the blue cast. The image has been removed from my hard drive:

Thanks to EJ and all who commented on my GSG picture.

I think most of the perceived contrast and scan problems were monitor-related. When I edited the original pic in PS, I was using a ViewSonic PT813 aperture-grille monitor calibrated with Adobe Gamma at Gamma = 2.2. If you were viewing with a MAC with Gamma = 1.8, then the picture would indeed probably seem to lack contrast. I actually boosted the overall contrast slightly in PS with an S-curve (59/64,128/128,197/202). I thought anything more was too much.

Also, I had already desaturated the blues in the birds and foreground shadows: -50(150/180-210\240). I think this was a problem with my old Nikon LS-2000 scanner. A global correction would have been better in retrospect. But there is not much if any blue in the background area, e.g. above the cock's head, so the claim there is an overall blue cast to the picture is, I think, unfounded.

I 've just recalibrated my monitor with ColorVision SpyderPRO with Optical. Now the picture in PS lacks a little contrast with the original curve compensation, but still looks quite good - to my eyes. The main problem with the original was too low a black point setting. I also checked the PDI reference target again. The old calibration was pretty darn close. With the new calibration, a very slight magenta cast was removed. That's about it. The biggest difference is that I can now see NatureScape pictures like Harvey Edelman's fine Reddish Egret picture as they're intended to look. My old monitor profile was apparently too contrasty.

ASAP I'll rescan the original slide with my new Nikon 4000 ED and repost.

But I've gotta make a final comment:

Aaargh!!! EJ, what did you do to my beeyootiful grouse picture? Was that some kind of weird Halloween joke? Your version looks absolutely garish on my monitor! I've never seen an ORANGE sage-grouse! I'm calling your version EJ'S NIGHTMARE ON THE SAGEBRUSH STEPPE.

So I'm gonna call you out in Soccorro in November! Meet me at the BLACK DOG CORRAL at HIGH NOON and be packin' your monitor. We're gonna shoot it out. Loser buys lunch.

Jim McIntyre