Project 52 by Bryan (BJ Denning)

[Geoff F]

The 100-400 was well known for having some softness problems with a few older lenses. Where you had good contrast the images seem perfectly sharp but a little softer where you appear to have been using auto focus on darker subjects. Particularly when viewed at full screen size. So that may explain something.

All good shots though.

[BJ Denning]

Red Eyed Heron -- Believe it or not, the background is water and not photoshopped texture.


Black Swan. I understand it is a little dark, however I liked the fall color reflection and the reflection of the swan


Sealions were playful this weekend. At my local Zoo there is an underwater tunnel. One sealion in particular enjoyed following a little girl, about 5 yr old. She ran between all the viewing portals, the sealion followed every time;even stopping and looking for her as he swam faster than her little legs could run. I've never seen a little girl more sadden than when it was time to leave. You would have thought the parent had set a brand new puppy in her lap, let her pet it, and smell it's breath, then took it away. Sadly enough the sealion watched anixously, through a transparent glass wall as she was escorted away. Later I heard that he made a new friend quickly -- but that little girl will remember her time for a long while.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Lovely shots Bryan. You could try doing some spot highlight adjustments on the swan to bring up the detail while keeping the reflection the way it is if you were so inclined.

[Nicola]

very beautiful pictures Bryan
my compliments

[BJ Denning]

Lovely shots Bryan. You could try doing some spot highlight adjustments on the swan to bring up the detail while keeping the reflection the way it is if you were so inclined.

Thanks Mal. Great Idea, would love to get a little more detail in the Swan. I'm just a little afraid of introducing noise. I'll give it a try and post, if it works out ;-)

[BJ Denning]

very beautiful pictures Bryan
my compliments

Thanks Nicola.

[BJ Denning]

Emperor Penguins


And a 9 month old Humboldt penguin

[Geoff F]

Good focus and exposure there. You have managed the contrast well; bright but not over exposed whites with firm shadows.

[BJ Denning]

Well yes, the year is over. I was two weeks behind and intend to finish the 52, even if it is not in the alloted time. Overall I believe the 52 thread has been benefitial, I think I have improved some, found many areas to improve more, and learned a deep respect for the 365'ers.

Below are a couple of the big cats. The first is known by several names: In my area it is called a Mountain lion (and is local), also called a Puma, but is offically a Cougar and the largest cat that can still purrrr.




And this is the Amur Leopard. She has been especially playful. Most of the cats enjoy the cooler weather.

[BJ Denning]

Whew, number 52, all done. Well this last one is a transition into 2013. Like most, I have looked back and am happy to seen some improvement. Going forward, I want to add more feeling/mood. So I have been experimenting with some changes to post processing below are the results.



Here is an "after", since the before is in the previous post.


Thanks for tracking with me through this adventure and for all the comments.

[FrankMi]

A beautiful finish for you P52 series Bryan. I am still hoping to get a few more to finish my thread.

I really like the treatment on the Amur Leopard. One thing that struck me about wildlife images is that, under the right conditions, they can look more like studio portraits than snapshots. I haven't figured out how to get good snapshots of wildlife as yet so I have a lot of learning ahead of me!