Oystercatcher (Haemaotopus ostralegus) & REPOST

The techs are;

Body: Nikon D300
Lens: Nikon 300mm f4 D AF-S IF ED Lens & TC 17E II

Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
Exposure Comp: -0.7 EV
Active D-Ligthing: Low
Colour Space: Adobe RGB
AF Mode: AF-C
Drive: Continuous: Frame 12
Sensitivity: ISO 400
White Balance: Cloudy
Shutter Speed: 1/500 sec
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 500mm
Flash: Off

Support:

Hand-Held

Processed:

Lightroom: RAW File 4288 x 2848, cropped to 3909 x 2606
Photoshop: 16 Bit TIFF File converted to 8-Bit, Lighten Shadow 50%, Darken Highlights 50%, Midtone Contrast +20%, Contrast +10%, Saturation +10%, USM 30%, 0.2, 0.0 (6 Passes), Saved As JPEG in sRGB Colour Space

Finished Image

File Size: 47.1MB
Image Size: 3909 x 2606

Comments & Critique welcome! Thanks for looking!

Hi Everyone,

This is one from a couple of days ago! It was overcast when I took this image late in the afternoon! I’ve tried to keep the mood during the processing that I felt when I took the picture! Hope you like it! Let me know what you think!

Happy shooting,

Hi Paul , good exposure , but the enviroment does do anything for me. I would like to see the crop a little tighter and the bird in a more natural enviroment.. I,E lake side. or near water.
Not sure if your oversharpening to much for the web, i think i can pick out some "halo" effects. what process do you use for sharpening ??

those are my only nits, but otherwise everything else is great.


Mark

Its a good shot Paul,I like! it reminds me of a little church just north of nethybridge,scotland where they used to sit like this all the time!!Might be tempted just to rotate clockwise the smallest of amounts but nice none the less.


Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk

Looks quite nice Paul but try a little tighter crop.

You've really overcooked it with the Shadow/Highlight adjust - the radius settings I'd suspect - that's where the halo effects are coming from.

Have another try with less harsh settings would be my suggestion matey

Thanks for the feedback guys! The background is the sea! I've rotated the image CW 3 degrees and reduced the Darken Highlights to 20%. I haven't cropped it yet but does this look better now? and sharpening is now 3 passes at 30%, 0.1, 0.0.

Well this one immediately resonates with me. Knackered on a Friday afternoon, I want to be sitting next to that oystercatcher looking out over the sea. I wouldn't want it cropped any tighter myself as I think you'd lose the mood.

Cheers

Tim

Looks nicely tweaked to me Paul, and possibly a touch more rotation would level it off even more {although easy to over-do, and end up with a tilting bird }.

I like the comp.............easy on the eye

There does appear to be a slight ghost effect along the edge of the bg cliff/rock , although less noticable on the repost {this was the main thing that caught my eye originally}.

Nice one!

Alan

Much better.

Lovely setting and indeed nr. 2 is much better.

Greetings,

Jeroen Stel

Hi Paul I much agree with former points made out, and find the second version better. Furthermore I think it needs a bit more saturation, I know it was overcast, but still an Oystercatcher beak should have a bit more punch!

I think Alan has nailed the problem, the lens bokah is very strange with the ghosting of rear vertical cliff and breaking sea waves.

I can still see a halo around the Oysterpip, if anything an increase in contrast is needed (and not continued reduction thro S/H) to increase depth in the blacks and make the orange bill and "bubblegum pink" legs pop more - the bare parts are far too subdued at present

my tuppence

Mike

Quite like the environment and the pensive pose. The muted colours suit the mood and not sure whether it would work as well for me with them brighter

Quite like the environment and the pensive pose. The muted colours suit the mood and not sure whether it would work as well for me with them brighter

Interesting backdrop Paul, comp looks good and plenty of detail in the whites. Just looks a bit dull (colour-wise, I mean!) and I can still see a marked halo around the bird and the cliff.
Eric

Hmm, i can definately see the shadow/highlight effect, which to me means its too much. The second is better, but i find the Bokeh busy above and right of the subject.

How are you finding the 300mm?