Scaup (With repost)


Posted by Jim Neely on Thu Feb 05, 2004 9:42 pm

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Scaup Town Lake, Austin TX

Another from last weekend's shoot on town lake.

This scaup and several others were hanging and scrounging food with the coots, gadwalls and wood ducks. They weren't too impressed with a couple of guys with lots of gear watching them. :)

I sacrificed a bit of detail in the whites to get the darks brought up a bit.

10D, 500/4L IS, 550EX + Flash Extender @ -1 2/3, ISO 400 -1/3

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Last edited by Jim Neely on Fri Feb 06, 2004 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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by Bill Whala on Thu Feb 05, 2004 9:59 pm
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Jim,

You definitely got detail in the blacks. The head turn makes me think he was posing for you. Very nice. :D
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by Alan Murphy on Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:04 pm
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Jim, a little over exposed all over. nice shot.
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by AlexC on Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:17 pm
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Is it brains or is it feathers inside that pointy little head ? !!!

Image:
Lovely bird and you cooked the whites,I like the pose as well!!
Congrats!! 8)
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by Jim Neely on Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:20 pm
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Alan Murphy wrote:Jim, a little over exposed all over. nice shot.
It didn't start out over exposed. I was trying to get the detail in the head and chest. There is good detail in the whites in the RAW image.

Thanks for the comments.

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by Bill Whala on Thu Feb 05, 2004 10:29 pm
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Jim Neely wrote:There is good detail in the whites in the RAW image.
You can try a linear conversion to regain the detail in the whites. This article explains how to do that.
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by Sandy Mossberg on Thu Feb 05, 2004 11:44 pm
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Jim, I put this in PS and attempted to darken the blacks and whites. The blacks looked great darker and the iridescence showed beautifully. I couldn't however get the whites under control - they are blown significantly.

If your RAW image shows no clipping of the histogram on the right side, I suggest that you reprocess the image and concentrate on keeping the darks quite dark and keeping the whites under control. If you need help, just yell.
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by Wayne Nicholas on Fri Feb 06, 2004 12:32 am
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Nice composition, Jim. But, I have to agree that by lightening the entire image, the true look of the duck doesn't shine through. IMO, as Sandy stated, the iridescence is what makes these guys who they are. The whites are a little too bright for my taste. I would opt for the truer look. :wink:
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by Carol Clarke on Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:54 am
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I will leave the techs to the experts, but this is a beautiful pose Jim and that head on look certainly shows the shape - which seems more pronounced in these guys! 8) :)
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by LHays on Fri Feb 06, 2004 6:24 am
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Jim
This is a great pose.....and definitely worth reworking....he's just a little "toasty".
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by fredcor on Fri Feb 06, 2004 7:26 am
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Great image, you're lucky to get this close. I prefer retaining detail in the blacks. Most times the blacks don't show anything, but , can only be done at the expense of the whites. :(
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by Jim Neely on Fri Feb 06, 2004 1:12 pm
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Image
Here's the original with out my screw ups in PS.

It even has Sandy's blessing.

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by Mpresti on Fri Feb 06, 2004 1:39 pm
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Jim,

beautiful pose and shot!

Did you try to rework the highlights a bit (perhaps via the SH filter in PSCS)?
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by Wayne Nicholas on Fri Feb 06, 2004 6:17 pm
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Great, and I'm on someone else's monitor that is just about shot. Oh well, having seen your stuff, I'll just comment based on what I imagine it looks like. The whites are definitely on. I like the darker version better. That's the tough part about shooting Scaup or Ring-necked Ducks, the same contrast which makes them so beautiful, makes them a real bugger to shoot.

P.S. Love the erect head and position in the frame. Very nice, Jim. Would you believe I am back in Austin this weekend and didn't bring my gear; I'm trying to be the good brother! :wink:
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