For Dan: Pigeon Guillemots

[Brownbear]

Just for fun and sharing... Truly adorable birds.

All SS 1600 Aperture 6.7 (300 mm lens with a 1.4 extender) ISO 1600 (set to auto iso max 1600) (Photographed early in the morning) Not cropped because I like the ripples in the water

Processed in LR, Sharpened and Noise Reduction on the water only in Photoshop CC (noise speckles in the water seen at full size)

Dancing on water


1.


2.




3. Sleepy Dancer

[bnnrcn]

This bird is cute indeed Christina if you crop #1 from the top by leaving the two curves behind the bird , I think it will make a good photo, because the wings are open and a horizontal crop might suit the image well. Just an idea

[Brownbear]

Yes, they are super cute... I agree with your suggestion for the crop. (thank you) I need to find a better angle but for sure I will be photographing these birds again this summer and will share.

This bird is cute indeed Christina if you crop #1 from the top by leaving the two curves behind the bird , I think it will make a good photo, because the wings are open and a horizontal crop might suit the image well. Just an idea

[Suzan J]

H Christina: These are great shots. Number one is my favourite, although I do love the orange feet in the second shot. How early was this? The light looks quite nice to me and there are no harsh shadows.

[chauncey]

Just think of how much fun you could have by using "puppet warp" on those wings.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Suzan.

Their feet are red which means my WB is a little off. I photographed these using Auto WB warm but processed with auto WB because the birds are blacker this way. 6:15am about an hour & 15 minutes after sunrise.

Chauncey...

I was recently told that my nature shots were too documentary. So I need to start exploring my artistic side. Puppet warp sounds artistic... Therefore I am going to send you my psd's (not raw because they are nikon) and if you feel so inclined to choose one of them and make it artistic and share with the rest of us, it would be a pleasure..

[NorthernFocus]

Hi, Christina. So let's see, tack sharp, nicely exposed with no blown highlights, excellent detail, I'd say you've arrived, lady. What a difference a year makes

I hope you recognize how much you've improved your photography in a relatively short time. You should be proud of yourself.

The WB looks fine to me. The feet are under water and water filters out red light. The light has to pass through the water twice on the way to the feet and then reflecting back to your camera. So some of the red is filtered. In LR you can use the eyedropper tool and pick a spot on the white under the wing as a good starting point. Though IMO many times LR seems to apply a bit too much tone correction in the red direction.

Nice job overall. Now you have to find a spot where they feed and you can get down closer to the water. Study and practice can speed the technical aspects along. Unfortunately the unique opportunities come at their own pace. I went back and looked in my files. This past weekend was my first shot at the guillemots since 2009

[chauncey]

Purely for giggles is this fast and dirty alteration, of which pride matters little

You should be proud of yourself

This needs to be echoed, over and over...when you say this " I need to start exploring my artistic side",
that is an area that I have been unable to achieve with any degree of satisfaction.
Good luck with that endeavor.

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

Thank you. Indeed very nice to hear as I admire your photography, so much. And you are one of the very helpful members who have helped me improve.

Also thank you for sharing the information on WB. The effect of water on the colours of birds is something I have never thought about. Yes, I tried the little eye dropper on the white part of the wing and it made the water an incredible unreal blue... However, knowing this will be very helpful to me for future.

Thank you for the extra advice. They feed in this area diving for fish (incredible little birds) but the shoreline is steep and the water deep so I can't wade into the water, and no boat rentals here. I will have to find another spot where I can photograph them from a lower position and I certainly hope it doesn't take me 4 years to find another spot.

Hi, Christina. So let's see, tack sharp, nicely exposed with no blown highlights, excellent detail, I'd say you've arrived, lady. What a difference a year makes

I hope you recognize how much you've improved your photography in a relatively short time. You should be proud of yourself.

The WB looks fine to me. The feet are under water and water filters out red light. The light has to pass through the water twice on the way to the feet and then reflecting back to your camera. So some of the red is filtered. In LR you can use the eyedropper tool and pick a spot on the white under the wing as a good starting point. Though IMO many times LR seems to apply a bit too much tone correction in the red direction.

Nice job overall. Now you have to find a spot where they feed and you can get down closer to the water. Study and practice can speed the technical aspects along. Unfortunately the unique opportunities come at their own pace. I went back and looked in my files. This past weekend was my first shot at the guillemots since 2009

[Brownbear]

Purely for giggles is this fast and dirty alteration, of which pride matters little


Thank you Chauncey!

I think this is really cool. I never thought I would be interested in manipulating an image, but you know I'm going to try something like this. One day I will surprise you with a funky bird wearing a pair of sunglasses.

I looked up puppet warp in my book, and it sounds easy enough to do but then so does cloning.

Thank you for your encouraging words. Truly appreciated.

This needs to be echoed, over and over...when you say this " I need to start exploring my artistic side",
that is an area that I have been unable to achieve with any degree of satisfaction.
Good luck with that endeavor.

[deetheturk]

Very nice Christina

[John 2]

Nice!

[Wavelength]

How much unique, that much beautiful..... really awesome

[Brownbear]

Thank you David, John, and Nandakumar. Truly appreciated.

Nandakumar - they are very unique and beautiful little birds. Fast flying, super fishers and they are a lot of fun just to watch.