Starling with nesting material

[Ollokot]

I wonder is there to much going on in this image,and does the fact that the birds right leg is in mid air cause a distraction,c&c would be most welcome.
Best Wishes,Pat.

[jiro]

I wonder is there to much going on in this image,and does the fact that the birds right leg is in mid air cause a distraction,c&c would be most welcome.
Best Wishes,Pat.

I don't think the bird's stance is a distraction. What I do think is that the image is a very good candidate for some nice post-processing work. I would probably recommend some cloning out of minor elements that seems to attract some attention and rob you of the chance to let the eye of the viewer be fixed on the bird alone. One would be the rock beneath the bird, the small plant near the tail, that small piece of bright element behind the twig that the bird has on his beak, something like that. Then a little boost on exposure, some darkening on the black areas (you always want the blacks to be black for drama), Some boost on brightness and contrast, additional sharpening (to bring details on the feathers, nice colors, btw!) and then for me, I would add a small amount of dark vignette. Something like this, Pat:



Really, it's just a matter of tweaking to make something nice become NICER. Hope this helps.

[spngr311]

The bird itself looks excellent. The colors of it really pop. I kind of agree with your assessments though. Also, are the feet blurry because of DOF or movement? Is there any way you can tone down the moss/grass? It looks off compared to the bird.

[Ollokot]

Hi Jiro,Rob thank you for your reply,
Jiro, I will go back and do some PP as you suggest,and as to sharpening I have found from many an error that it has to be subtle with regard to the feathers.
Rob,your thoughts echo mine to tone down the moss,the blurry feet I would imagin are due to DOF,unless the shutter speed of 1/400 was a tad to slow, although the moss also appears blurry.
Thanks Again Best Wishes Pat.

[spngr311]

Can't wait to see how you post process it. I really like that shot of that bird.

[Ollokot]

Is this better or worse,

[MiniChris]

Better, but you have so many conflicting tonal ranges, I am not sure it is possible to salvage this one short of some real magic. If you really felt like you just had ot have this one, I'd darken the background to the point of non-recognition, then lower the saturation in the mossy-grassy area under his feet, then give the bird's shadow more definition to ground the bird. If you have any image area to the left of his beak, give yourself about another 1/2 inch and clip it closer to his tail. This will give the bird a place to look out of the frame comfortably.

[jeeperman]

If all else fails I might mask the bird and go mono on the background. Just a thought to try and save a cool bird.

[Ollokot]

Messed about a bit and came up with this,but I think it looks unnatural.
Best Wishes,Pat

[jiro]

Messed about a bit and came up with this,but I think it looks unnatural.
Best Wishes,Pat

In a way, Pat. The bird seems to be "floating" and not grounded. Take Chris' suggestion to darken the shadows to create a more realistic adjustment. On the side, I have to commend you for bringing out the details on the bird. Now, it looks more prominent on the image which is a good thing because it is the main subject. You are definitely learning here so keep it up.

[Ollokot]

In a way, Pat. The bird seems to be "floating" and not grounded. Take Chris' suggestion to darken the shadows to create a more realistic adjustment. On the side, I have to commend you for bringing out the details on the bird. Now, it looks more prominent on the image which is a good thing because it is the main subject. You are definitely learning here so keep it up.

Hi Willie,
I must commend you and all others for the teaching and encouragement you give on this wonderful site,
Best Wishes, Take Care, Pat.

[Steve S]

Nice shot pat. You had great timing to catch the starling with nesting material in its mouth. These are the types of things that make an image stand out from the rest.

I think you did a very good job on your edit. What i did, was cool the image down just a touch............add some selective LAB color..........a slight amount of vignette to darken the background a touch...............sharpen