Crying Osprey on a Post

I'm impresed. Great pose and perfect moment for taking photo.
I'm not sure but there is something wrong with colour on my office screen.
I have to check at home but for now the pic is a little dark and low contrast. Also the background is unusual (?). Not blue, not grey. What was the weather?

I like the composition

I like this shot a lot - the yellow eye and open bill really elevate this one. I do wish for a little more detail in the darker plumage which could easily be done with a curves adjustment.

Bill, Great detail and action. Looks a tad dark overall to me.

Great timing to catch him calling. It looks a little dark to me too but that is easily fixed.

Very nice!

Too Dark? See: http://www.globalgallery.com/enlarge.asp?id=025-33205

I love the light on this bird. The open bill really stands out.

Bill, instead of converting to Lab Mode, you need only do the sharpening, then go to EDIT> Fade Unsharp Mask, set the Mode to Luminosity, This is equivelent to sharpening only the brightness channel in Lab Mode, without having to convert RGB's. BTW- you can use the opacity to vary the filter strength/application. Note-the process must be done directly after each UnSharp Mask application.

You can also use the Sharpening tool in the same manner, set the Mode to Luminosity, and you can now selectivley sharpen areas by changing the brush size, edge and opacity without alteration of color pixels.

Best and nice pic,

Chas

Thank you. I have tried both of your suggestions and I am very impressed. One has so much greater control using your technique. Your comments have been pasted into my photographers notebook to be kept and used again and again. This was most kind of you and speaks highly of you as one who is willing to share knowledge, and of this website because of the constant positive and useful comments one receives. Best regards,

Sweet shot Bill. The color balance is as perfect as it could be to my eye!

Lovely shot of one of my favorite birds, nice capture and lovely open bill, just a little selective sharpening on the head area should suffice!!, Very nice!!! Congrats!!

Bill,

An incredible closeup! Love the open beak. Only needs to be lightened to be perfect. Well done.

Bill'

Killer of a face. If you only had a longer lens.

Jim

Great catch, Bill. From the title I had no idea what to expect. After viewing the image I like the title. I agree about the suggestion to use just a little curves adjustment. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised if you try it.

Jim Urbach wrote:Bill'

Killer of a face. If you only had a longer lens.

Jim

I agree Jim. OK, Nikon folks, if money is no object (well, almost), what lens would you buy in the 500mm-600mm range? And, why?

Ok. The consensus is to raise curves on this shot. I tried that. It blows out the whites in the legs. Why does a photograph HAVE to be lighter? What is wrong with an image that shows definition and remains dark? My view is that photography is an art form and as such, the question of light and darkness is an artistic decision, not a technical application. Yes, I know, use flash fill, raise curves, brighten the graph, but why? In the end, I think one should show the world as one sees it. My world is a tad darker than others see it. I guess I am a lover of the great contrasts Rembrandt showed us.

As someone whom I really admire recently said to me, "Forget the technicals, look at the photograph!"

And I do appreciate your technical comments, they force me to reexamine what I am doing. I learn from your viewpoints. It helps me enormously. I am still struggling with this. Yet, time and time again, I find myself lowering curves to find that balance of dark and light.

Please don't misunderstand, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE YOUR OPINIONS.

Thanks,

Hey Bill,

I love the contrast here .. the darker sides really set off the lighter front of the bird. The pose and open beak top it all off perfectly.

Cheers

Carl

PS -- I'd go for the 500!

After everything was said, I still prefer bring out the detail that is there in the shadows. So put me on the lightening side. I don't mean lightening the bright areas. I mean lightening the darker areas. (Shadow Recover). Especially since you went -1 EV to preserve the highlights. That puts you about 1 stop under exposed for everything but the highlights.

I've been having lots of discussions with Dennis about 500's and 600's. The question is more about how heavy would you like to go? You're current lens only weighs about 3 lbs. The 500 weighs in at 7.5 lbs. The 600 at 11 lbs. You'll need a new tripod head and (maybe) a new tripod for them.

Nice pose and detail, btw.

Looks a little dark to me... ** ducking**
Seriously, nice to read the comments on lightening and darkening of images, but most for me, I love seeing this bird of prey up close and personal as I tried and tried this summer by hanging nearby a nest - ( and only got screeched at) so left as not to stress him. This is a wonderful pose and head turn - and detail!