Pairs

[Stagecoach]

I was sat in the car sheltering from the rain watching these guys fly back and forth and the minute it stopped I grabbed a few shots.

Nothing special it was just the formation that appealed to me and notice how the third from the front on the right is nagging his partner in both shots

Crested terns I believe.

1/200s, f/16, ISO800, 110mm


1/200s, f/16, ISO900, 300mm


Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, even though the birds are a bit small within the frame (1st image) I'd try to get some separation between the birds and water.

[Stagecoach]

Nice effort, even though the birds are a bit small within the frame (1st image) I'd try to get some separation between the birds and water.

I'm not sure how I would go about increasing the separation John, any ideas?

[ajohnw]

I had an idea but don't think it really works



Sort of spotlighting them with blur.

John
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[Kodiak]

I'm not sure how I would go about increasing the separation John, any ideas?

I'm curious too!

[Stagecoach]

I agree John, it does not really work and to be honest I do not consider the image worth working on. It was more of a test for the new 300mm Tamron trying to get used to working distances and DoFs with it which are entirely new to me.

Lighting was very poor and these were at quite a distance. I did manage to do a shot of No 2 opened wide and with the limited DoF it has shown the AF is pretty good.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

I'm not sure how I would go about increasing the separation John, any ideas?

I think the blur that John suggested would work and I'd also add a bit of contrast or sharpening to the bird's profile.

[deetheturk]

Hi Grahame, I like #1 with the diagonal going on looking forward to more from the new lens, keep them coming bud!

David

[Kodiak]

I'm not sure how I would go about increasing the separation John, any ideas?

May I suggest this… better results may be expected from the RAW file:

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

Just to say that I absolutely love the way you framed these images!

[rpcrowe]

I cropped the second image into more of a vertical shape and also added some structure with NIK Viveza.



Looking at this image now, I might consider cloning out some of the reflection from the unseen piling in the upper image left...

[Shadowman]

May I suggest this… better results may be expected from the RAW file:

Kodiak,

Did you do a levels adjustment? The whites look a bit crisper.

[Kodiak]

Kodiak, Did you do a levels adjustment? The whites look a bit crisper.

I simply masked the birds to brighten a tad, then
I reversed the mask to darken the water a tad.

[ajohnw]

I think the blur that John suggested would work and I'd also add a bit of contrast or sharpening to the bird's profile.

A lot added but I feel Grahame may be correct it is a difficult shot to do something with. Maybe the same approach and seam carving might work by bringing the birds closer allowing them to be bigger in the image. Eg but needs doing with more care and a bigger image to start with.



John
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[ajohnw]

Anyone can dump a large file here, no sign up or anything - be nice to have either a raw or full sized jpg if decent quality level.

http://filebin.net/

John
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[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame, I like #1 with the diagonal going on looking forward to more from the new lens, keep them coming bud!

David

Cheers David, when the sun comes out I'll give it a go at dragonflies if I can find some

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,

Just to say that I absolutely love the way you framed these images!

Thank you Christina. Fortunately all I had to do was walk along a path by the sea wall to compose them.

The location is close to the tree I photographed with the boat for 'Blue Morning' and previous pre sunrise shots and on looking at that tree yesterday someone has thrown two car tyres up into it and they are hanging off branches, I was fuming

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Richard, I like the treatment but the square and centralised crop does not work for me. Crop wise I suspect some off the bottom and left may be the answer.

[Stagecoach]

I simply masked the birds to brighten a tad, then
I reversed the mask to darken the water a tad.

I have not yet reached the skill level or patience level to consider masking the individual birds Kodiak. But your edit has given an incentive to have a go.

[Stagecoach]

Anyone can dump a large file here, no sign up or anything - be nice to have either a raw or full sized jpg if decent quality level.

http://filebin.net/

John
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John,

I have placed the RAW here http://filebin.net/ejfvmmbiok should you wish to 'play'with it.

Apart from the distance of the shot ISO800 with the D300 is something I would never normally consider going anywhere near but had absolutely no choice here.

Grahame