Clovis' Nikon Nuggets

[Clovishound]

Haven't been out shooting lately. On the way home I saw some wading birds at a nearby pond. Not exciting subjects or background, but I needed the practice, so I grabbed my camera and headed back out to the pond. Decided to try and shake it up a little with something a tad more creative. Not sure I nailed it, but it is different. On the plus side, it has texture and mood. On the down side, I would have liked a little more detail in the ibis' head.

Here's another with promise, but not quite there. I love the reflection and mood of the water surface. Bird's head isn't quite sharp, and worse, the highlights on the back are blown out. I had my camera set to -1 stop compensation, but it wasn't enough. I had no time to make adjustments while the birds was in the air.

 

[Needa]

Here's another with promise, but not quite there. I love the reflection and mood of the water surface. Bird's head isn't quite sharp, and worse, the highlights on the back are blown out. I had my camera set to -1 stop compensation, but it wasn't enough. I had no time to make adjustments while the birds was in the air.


View attachment 414549

Overall I'm not sure the focus is an issue. The detail in the blown highlights might have contrasted the bird from the background and reflection but I like it as is.

 

[Blue439]

Couldn’t you recover the highlights in Photoshop? They don’t look too badly blown out... I would rather have framed the bird somewhat more to the left to give it some breathing space in the direction it’s flying.

 

[Clovishound]

I've got the highlights buried to the left in LR on both the overall, and also in the masked subject. I tried cropping it and putting the bird on the third line on the left. It looked really out of balance to me. I tried moving it somewhat to the left as much as I felt I could. I also brought the exposure down on the bird a little more, as much as I thought I could get by with short of having it look wrong.

Here is the result.

Here's the one with the bird on the third.

 

[Needa]

I've got the highlights buried to the left in LR on both the overall, and also in the masked subject. I tried cropping it and putting the bird on the third line on the left. It looked really out of balance to me. I tried moving it somewhat to the left as much as I felt I could. I also brought the exposure down on the bird a little more, as much as I thought I could get by with short of having it look wrong.

Here is the result.

View attachment 414911


Here's the one with the bird on the third.

View attachment 414912

The original has the feel of a lone bird.

 

[Clovishound]

The original has the feel of a lone bird.

That is one of the reasons I went with that crop. I always enjoy input on different takes on an image. Sometimes a suggestion works well for me. Sometimes my preference is for the image as I originally shot and edited it. It often comes down to personal preference. Getting feedback on a different perspective helps me learn and grow.

In this case, the more I look at the last image posted, the more it grows on me. Still not sure which I like better. This image doesn't strike me as one of my better works.

 

[Clovishound]

Not sure why I like this image, but it appeals to me. We don't get snow around here but maybe once every 8-10 years.