High Key Pintails
by Jim Hansen
I realize this isn't the typical sort of post for this gallery, but I thought I would try it anyway. The sky was gray with clouds, so I exposed for the birds so they wouldn't be a silhouette. The camera focused on the flock perfectly and the exposure was almost perfect, thus rendering the sky almost white. I like the pattern the flock produced, as well as the wing positions. My wife thought it looked like a painting.
D800e, 300f4, 1.4tc, 1/2500, f5.6, ISO 640. Hand held. Comments and criticism are highly regarded.
Comments
3 commentsI’m not sure what lens you used but you did so well in having all eight birds in focus; there is a good impression of in flight motion too. One small nit concerns the resolution which should have perhaps shown the lengthy ‘pin tails’. I’m no expert but I’d agree 100% with your wife’s assessment, I’d be tempted to enhance the overall effect as follows:
Make 8 individual selections on the birds and apply a small global increase in their contrast and vibrance. Now invert the selection and apply a light blue semi transparent ‘wash’ to the background. Apply increased intensity gradient toward the bottom edge. Cheers!
David