Say's Phoebe - w/Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted January 5, 2010151 views21 comments

One of my last shots of 2009, this pretty little Say's Phoebe sat up (as they usually do) and posed for me in Valencia, CA on 12/26. I liked the partial side lighting which gave a nice look to this jaunty little flycatcher.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions!

Canon 50D, 300mm f/4 IS w/1.4 handheld, 1/250 @ f/6.3, ISO 400

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 5, 2010 at 11:57 AM

Hans,

Something went wrong in the post processing - almost all of the detail is lost on the bird. My only guess is you masked the bird and meant to inverse the selection and do a nois reduction, but you didn't inverse it?

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Spiecker on January 5, 2010 at 12:06 PM

Hmm. I have to check that out. Do others see loss of detail on the bird too?

Registered on March 23, 2006, 366 Posts, 4649 Comments

Comment posted by Joel DeYoung on January 5, 2010 at 12:59 PM

Hans,

Nice comp. and perch. However I also see a loss of detail in the bird. As Luke suggested, is this a masking issue?

Registered on July 12, 2009, 92 Posts, 1074 Comments

Comment posted by Ian Mason on January 5, 2010 at 2:28 PM

Yes, my first reaction was that this was a superb composition with a lovely colour palette, then I noticed the problem with the plumage. Hope you can fix it because it looks full of promise.

Registered on December 14, 2005, 399 Posts, 2305 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 5, 2010 at 2:37 PM

My guess is the issue is one of trying to pull out detail on the shadow side of the bird, either with extensive tweaking of levels or curves, or perhaps with shadow/highlight.

How underexposed was the front of the phoebe in the unprocessed raw file?

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on January 5, 2010 at 2:47 PM

I'd like to know what your workflow was for this image Hans. Its a nice shot , worthy of some re-tweaking.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Frank Winters on January 5, 2010 at 4:48 PM

Excellent image except for the detail loss. It looks like a misuse of curves to me....hope you can fix it...very good otherwise.

Registered on January 5, 2006, 123 Posts, 717 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on January 5, 2010 at 5:14 PM

The front and top of the head really shows the issues with the processing. I am sure it can be fixed. As others have stated. This is a very nice comp worth redoing.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Pullen on January 5, 2010 at 6:32 PM

Perfect pose with good background.

Ron

Registered on December 18, 2005, 74 Posts, 1413 Comments

Comment posted by Hans Spiecker on January 5, 2010 at 8:04 PM

Well, I gave it another try. Is this better? I think part of the problem is trying to bring out detail when the bird is back/side lit.

Registered on March 23, 2006, 366 Posts, 4649 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on January 5, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Much better! Great pose and backlighting. I really like the rich color on the underside.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Ed Dubois on January 5, 2010 at 8:14 PM

Sweet shot Hans. The repost fixes it nicely.

Registered on February 22, 2005, 129 Posts, 4739 Comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on January 5, 2010 at 9:48 PM

Success! Much better

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on January 5, 2010 at 10:16 PM

very nice pose, and the repost looks much better.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 5, 2010 at 10:46 PM

Hans: The repost is excellent.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Gary Gulash on January 5, 2010 at 11:08 PM

Repost is very good Hans. They seem to like little perches like this based on my experience.

Registered on January 28, 2005, 879 Posts, 12098 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on January 5, 2010 at 11:22 PM

Hans,

The repost is much better.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on January 6, 2010 at 5:41 AM

That looks a lot better Hans

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on January 6, 2010 at 7:53 PM

Ah! The repost is great! Lovely picture, Hans!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Harbour on January 6, 2010 at 8:50 PM

The repost is excellent. I love the dainty perch, and the pose. I like the way the gray bg compliments the bird.

Registered on January 4, 2008, 113 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Ravee Wattanatanak on January 7, 2010 at 4:29 PM

It's a lot better and i like a cute bird too.

Registered on December 12, 2008, 105 Posts, 786 Comments