Bluebird w/ Prey+original

I had to swot up on Topaz Clean filter, never heard of it before ( I lead a sheltered life !) I was admiring this pic wondering why it was so 'different'. I like the effect and the shot. I would like to see the straight shot but that takes nothing away from the one shown which I like a great deal.
I suppose it does belong in Photo Art but then I might not have seen it.
Thanx for showing.

Wonderful capture !
I appreciate everything in this shot, and I want underline the touch of female elegance : tones of the dragonfly similar to bird
Giorgio

A fabulous catch for bird and photographer - and a most interesting rendering of your image Sandy.

Really nice catch Sandy, the topaz filter works very well here.
In all the hundreds bird shots I own, I think there's only a couple with insects.
The dragonfly adds a lot to the image, nice!

Amazing Sandy - love the detail, comp and the lunch

cheers
Rob

Looks great to me, Sandy. It would be nice to see the original to understand just what this filter did. The dragonfly looks a bit smoother than dragonflies around here. Nice detail in the bird feathers. I had not previously heard of Topaz. They have some really interesting software. I'm glad that you posted this image here too.

Nice shot Sandy. I have messed around with Topaz. Fun stuff. I love the image, but do believe it is more in line with photo art given the dramatic affect on the look of the dragonfly especially.

Sandy,

Awesome to get this bird with such a big prey and a nice perch. I would personally have put this in the photo-art forum as it obviously has been run through filters and would actually like to see the original shot.

- Luke

I like this as posted but would also like to see the original version to understand what Topaz did to this.

Ok, let's see if I can show this well - I'll upload the original first (shown just above) , then a version of the Topaz-filtered one, enlarged to show detail. The filter smoothed the dragonfly and perch, accentuated the veins in the dragonfly wings, and emphasized the feathers of the bird.

ok, now the filtered and enlarged version.
This is a very subtle effect - it could have been much more pronounced if I'd chosen.
Filters are fun!

Wonderful shot.

Congrats

D&L

Sweet, Sandy. Thanks for posting the others, but this is such a subtle effect that I have no problem with this being in Avian. Excellent image and post processing .

Thank you for the reposts, Sandy. The enhancements to the feather detail and dragonfly wings look subtle but realistic. It's harder to see the effect on the dragonflies body. However, the result is certainly aesthetic. How faithfully the new dragonfly image reflects what the dragonfly actually looks like is uncertain. It's possible that the new image shows fictional dragonfly characteristics (extra smoothness). However, the effect is subtle. Also, sometimes images posted here show fictional characteristics and are not aesthetic (e.g. halos, etc.)! So, I'm fine with it being posted here.

Wow, now that's a great catch.
May

photo art, IMO, Sandy but I still like what you did with it :), I like the effect Topaz Clean has on some images. That is a pretty big meal for the bluebird.

Now thats a shot! Don't change a thing. This is perfection!

Great use of this filter Sandy!!! It looks very natural to me. Sweet photo!!!

Ken Archer

Hmmm, well now I prefer the topaz version, a beauty.