2017 PROJECT 52, Third Quarter by Janis (purplehaze)

[purplehaze]

It was a busy summer and I started out with low energy, so I had to pace myself. I did do a fair amount of shooting, especially during my holiday, and am taking advantage of this long weekend to catch up on my processing, and start catching up on this thread.

Week 27

I gave the new lens (Nikkor 300 mm f/4 PF) quite a workout on the first long weekend of the summer.

#1



f/9, 1/400, 100 ISO

#2



f/4.5/, 1/1000, 100 ISO

It wasn't until I got the images up on the computer that I realized that one of the pelicans had a fish hook in his wing. Fishing activity on the pier has exploded in the last couple of years and so I expect this is going to be a common occurrence. I called the provincial wildlife authority about it, but they said that so long as the bird was flying, they had no hope of catching it to remove the hook.

#3



f5, 1/1000, 100 ISO

#4



f/5, 1/1000, 100 ISO

[bnnrcn]

Nice to see you posting again Janis I think and I hope the bird might take that fishing hook out on its own. I like the shots. You seem to have lost some details on the feather of the pelicans but may be you can gain them back by reducing the highlights selectively .

[purplehaze]

Nice to see you posting again Janis I think and I hope the bird might take that fishing hook out on its own. I like the shots. You seem to have lost some details on the feather of the pelicans but may be you can gain them back by reducing the highlights selectively .

Thanks, Binnur, I'll give it another go. These were actually processed before I started reading the book on Capture One I stumbled upon at the bookstore a few weeks ago. It has explained a lot I did not understand before and i think my editing is becoming less ham-fisted now.

As far as the bird getting the hook out on its own, I don't think that is likely to happen without much tearing of flesh as it appears to have gone all the way through the wing, leaving a wound on the underside. I think I might have shot the same bird a month later, though; will have to check.

I am loving how this bird photography is sharpening my observation skills. Among other things, I have learned that the grey gulls I have shared the beach with all my life are actually two species and the brown and white speckled birds are actually juvenile specimens of the greys. Duh!

[Geoff F]

Good images, Janis. Maybe just a fraction bright in #2 ?

I have previously mentioned that, to me, when a bird shot angle has unequal wing sizes but the closest wing is the largest it looks OK, as with this image, but when the other way around it seems rather odd.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Geoff. Interesting observation about wing sizes; don't think I have considered that before.

Anyhow, I have reworked #2; do you think this is an improvement? (The warm white balance of both was a deliberate choice by the way.)



I also tweaked #4 quite a bit, but may have brought the highlights down too far.

[Shadowman]

Nice bird series.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, John. I think I have better yet to come!

[bnnrcn]

Both edits look good to me Janis. The feather detail is visible well in the pelican shot when viewed at the lightbox

Thanks, Geoff. Interesting observation about wing sizes; don't think I have considered that before.

Anyhow, I have reworked #2; do you think this is an improvement? (The warm white balance of both was a deliberate choice by the way.)



I also tweaked #4 quite a bit, but may have brought the highlights down too far.

[Geoff F]

Yes, you have brought out some good detail with the edits.

[purplehaze]

Thanks to you both, but I can't help feeling something has been lost. I need to develop a lighter touch in all respects, I think.

[Rainforest]

I can relate to your comment about photographing and sharper observing. I think that is one of my favorite things. It looks like you will be having a fine time with your new lens. :-) Nice ones.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Susan. Each new lens opens up new horizons and I love them each for different reasons.

[purplehaze]

I fell behind in my posting in this thread, although I have been active pretty much every week this year. If I was not shooting, I was building my processing skills in Capture One. I thought I would post a few of my favorite images in the coming days, just for the record, and some sense of accomplishment.

Week 28

I posted a few images of entertainers at this summer's folk festival in another thread, but I don't think I shared with you how much fun I had shooting candids of the people in the crowd, the reach of the 300 mm allowing me to shoot virtually unnoticed. One of my favorite things is to capture people just being themselves. Of the dozens of people images I shot, this is one of my favorites. My focus is bit off, but I love the warmth of the evening light and the way the subject is framed.

[Geoff F]

Nicely isolated from the crowd.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Geoff. It's easy to do with that lens.

Week 29

Family wedding weekend. My wedding pictures were mostly crap, but they served to tell me at least some of what I needed to learn for the fall wedding I had been asked to shoot candids for. I got some decent family pics at the next day's picnic, though. Who says you need a face to tell a story?



Week 30

I got the macro out to shoot some stuff around the yard and discovered this guy. I'd be grateful if someone could identify him for me.

[Geoff F]

That is a Harvestman, Janis. Similar to spiders but not quite the same. The abdomen/thorax area is fused into one instead of being jointed, they don't have any poison fangs or the ability to spin webs.

If it was in the UK I would expect this to be a male Phalangium opilio; but do you get them over there?

[purplehaze]

Thank you, Geoff! Until today, I did not know that a Daddy Long Legs was not a spider! Or that a Harvestman was anything other than a tractor! Filed! We do indeed have the species you mentioned here in North America, but it was introduced. I gather that round thing in the middle is its eye. What makes you think it is a male?

[Geoff F]

If you look at the left side of the body, Janis, by its 'mouth' you will see what looks like a massive pair of horns and an extra pair of small legs. These appendages only appear like this on males of this particular species; females look more like 'normal' harvestmen.

The real test for Phalangium opilio (both males and females) is to look very closely at the area under its 'nose' where there are a pair of very small white 'horns'. It does require a really close look at exactly the correct angle though.

[purplehaze]

Thanks, Geoff! I am going to check the other images to see if any of them are more revealing. And I think I may have to add some books on insects to my nature library.

[Wavelength]

All are splendid!!!