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Monarch Blues
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Monarch Blues

by Howard Cheek

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted October 7, 2014139 views7 comments
Glad that I finally spotted a Monarch this season, sad that they're in such severe decline now..
I've posted some info in the EPJ Gallery if you're interested:http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=222004&CGISESSID=0a0abab4f2a6ec40a595a86ac36ba08c&u=29191
This is the same b-fly, different BG. I did a quick mask of the BG to remove some out of focus oak tree branches in this one.
Does it work ok?
F/14, 1/400th, ISO 640, 1D M3, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 + Kenko 1.4x @ 11:23am & sunny/clear. Monopod for support.

Comments

7 comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 7, 2014 at 9:25 AM
Un-sharpened original with branches in the BG..
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Paul Breitkreuz on October 7, 2014 at 1:43 PM
What an impact the revised version is over the original, Howard. I said this recently on another landscape photo, sometimes too much is too much and our attention wanders as a result. This is very clean after the post processing changes. Excellent work.... :cool:

I'm with you on the plight of the monarch and the honey bee. As a long time member of several environmental groups the updates on these critters is not only heartbreaking, it's scary. The lack of pollination from bees alone could be very devastating to agriculture industry over the long haul. It is significant in California already with the issue hurting the almond growers tremendously. They can't import enough bees anymore as there are fewer hives available for import. In So Cal we actually have had write ups in the newspapers about bee hive "rustling" as it's called. Basically, hives being stolen in the middle of the night. :frown:
Registered on February 25, 2006, 525 Posts, 8448 Comments
Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on October 7, 2014 at 7:01 PM
Very beautiful image, Howard! You did an excellent job on the bg! I'm able to remove some distracting elements from my images, but sometimes they just don't turn out right. Could you tell me how you do this or tell my how I can learn? I'd love to be able to do this with some of my images!
Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on October 7, 2014 at 9:37 PM
Simple but very effective, Howard. The azure blue bg is fantastic, especially as a backdrop to the red zinnia. Excellent pp work to get this result. :toast:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 8, 2014 at 8:22 AM
Hi Barb & thank you for commenting. The process is fairly simple..
In Adobe CS4:
Select the the BG using the magic wand, making sure I get every nook & cranny :wink:
Then select > modify > contract by two pixels.
Then select > modify > feather the edge @ 5 pixels.
Edit > fill using the dropper to grab the part of the sky I wanted.

This only works well with a BG like this. If the BG is more complicated well, it gets more 'complicated':wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on October 8, 2014 at 9:46 PM
Hi Howard :wavey: excellent processing, producing excellent results :toast:


Albert Darmo
Canada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on October 9, 2014 at 12:41 PM
Thank you for sharing your technique, Howard. This will be very helpful on some of my images. I thought maybe you were using the healing brush and I couldn't imagine how you got it so perfect!
Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments