Bird Art Especially for Chauncey - High Key Swan

[dje]

Great shot Christina, just lovely.

Dave

[Stagecoach]

Simply Wonderful Christina !

Frame and hang it.

Grahame

[FootLoose]

This is beautiful, Christina. It is a great subject, expertly processed. I think the original is the best version. The only thing I might change are the two little light spots on the neck - one about midway and the other lower down. I realise it is the sun shining through, striking the neck the distract a little because they are so small and so much brighter than the rest of the neck at these points.

[Wavelength]

This can hang on the walls of Heaven too.... very precious

[ied]

Absolutely stunning!

Irene

[deetheturk]

Wonderful image Christina, beautifully done

David

[Slipper]

Awesome lighting and really like the high key effect.

[John 2]

That is one stunning image Christina, particularly the second version. Perhaps needs a little more head room in the comp but that's not a difficult one if you wanted to add it. Lovely. (P.S. Just been doing the same to some Egrets but now I will have to pause before posting them - too much to compare to.)

[Brownbear]

Thank you Bruce, Rita, Dave, Grahame, Irene, Nandakumar (such a poetic compliment), David, Greg, John (Slipperman) and John for your kind words, encouragement and helpful advice and tips.

Allan... Thank you for the detailed explanation. Very helpful to me. I reworked the image and the darkening of the shadows posed challenges in that it was hard to match to the rest of the image and keep a natural look.

Here is my 2nd edit following everyone's suggestions, including getting rid of the bright spots on the neck, sharpening, and darkening the shadows on the neck, increasing saturation, and expanding the canvas. (easy when its white) I also had a little trouble with blending when doing so many things to an image.

I am going to have to sit on this image for a while because when I tried this again, I struggled with a lot of things, so it is likely that my final version will likely be somewhere in between.




Thank you to all! It is truly wonderful to be able to receive such great input and helpful advice.

PS

Grahame - I do wonder what white on white will print like

John Slipperman - I like high key images so your compliment put a huge smile on my face

Greg - Thank you for your comments and advice, as always.

John - I just know your high key Egrets will be fabulous and I'm looking forward to seeing them!

[FrankMi]

Christina, the first is quite stunning, but by the time I go to the last image I was blown away by the perfection in artistry. The image has so much going for it on so many levels I can't take my eyes off it! Bravo! You've worked hard to perfect your skills and it is very evident in the results you present here.

[bnnrcn]

Great image Christina, congratulations

[Donald]

How did I miss this? What a beautiful image. And Frank, as per usual, says it perfectly:-

Christina, the first is quite stunning, but by the time I go to the last image I was blown away by the perfection in artistry.

[Brownbear]

Frank,

What a wonderful message to receive in my email. "Perfection in artistry" - I'm working very hard on developing a vision for my images and my post processing skills. I hope one day to be able to create beautiful artsy bird images...

Binnur,

As always thank you for your comments and encouragement. I did manage a sunrise image at Lions Gate Bridge the other day. If you recall this was a place that I intended to revisit. This time around it was much easier but I have to admit it was foggy and that helped. It's still not the image I hope to capture but better than my first try last year.

[bnnrcn]

I'm looking forward to seeing your sunrise photo Christina BTW may I ask how the water became so white in the image? I don't think it is because of brightening it selectively,because the reflection of the swan is still visible.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Donald. Truly appreciated!

How did I miss this? What a beautiful image. And Frank, as per usual, says it perfectly:-

[Brownbear]

Hi Binnur,

I''ll wait to share that scene on another day when I manage to capture an image similar to yours. It's pretty but just a bridge on a foggy morning at sunrise. And I'm still on my break but Frank brought me back in with his comment.

In the first image the water was almost white, almost blown in spots in the first place because of the lighting. It was also very foggy and misty, so the image with the swan was suited to a high key image. So I added a curves adjustment layer lifting the highlights and midtones drastically BUT I erased part of the curves adjustment off of the swan and also off of the reflection to keep as much detail as possible.

I'm looking forward to seeing your sunrise photo Christina BTW may I ask how the water became so white in the image? I don't think it is because of brightening it selectively,because the reflection of the swan is still visible.