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I Like Your Feedback & Critique On This Eagle Photo
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Sep 20, 2011 10:01:15   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
I took this Bald Eagle photo on overcast and cloudy day. I used my Nikon D300 with a manual focus Nikon 500mm lens and 1.4X Teleconverter. The ISO was set at 640, Speed at 1/250, and f-stop at F-6.3. A tripod and a camera release was used to take this photo. I used Lightroom 3 it and Topaz Adjust 4 to enhance this photo. I cropped this photo to 5% of its original size so I would get the Eagle's eyes really standing out in this image. I would appreciate your feedback and any critique that could help improve this image. If you wish to view more of my Eagle photos, click on this link http://bit.ly/nkUKZi.

Bald Eagle - I Have My Eyes On You!
Bald Eagle - I Have My Eyes On You!...

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Sep 20, 2011 10:20:55   #
Me-Fl Loc: Maine - Florida
 
I don't think any photo of yours of an Eagle could be improved. I so love them. Thank the Lord for putting you in the right place, right time. You site just made me sit here and dream of someday......beautiful work indeed. Think you could send some of them up to M.I. for a day or so?

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Sep 20, 2011 10:30:39   #
jonsund Loc: Currently: Florida, USA
 
Great image Arnold.

Could you add a little blue tint to the background to separate the eagle from the sky. You might be able to do it in lightroom with the Adjustment Brush using the color feature at the bottom of the effects panel.

Know you love a challenge. Hope you are having a good day.

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Sep 20, 2011 11:11:27   #
alaskanfrog Loc: Alaska
 
Nice photo, but too much correction. Sometimes the best photos only require a minimum of color enhancement and correction. Your photo of the eagle is very nicely composed, but the over correction is evident with the graininess that appears. The graininess is more apparent in the darker colors and look like small dots. The grain affect is good for some things and can add a very dramatic flare, but in nature, you lose color details such as the beautiful iridescence and shimmer that is natural to eagle feathers.

I live in Alaska and have seen many, many bald eagles up close and had the privilege of holding and touching them many times over many years. Other than this, it's a beautiful shot.

James

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Sep 20, 2011 11:46:40   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
Jon,

This is my attempt to add a blue sky to this photo using LR3. In my opinion, not to good.

Arnold

jonsund wrote:
Great image Arnold.

Could you add a little blue tint to the background to separate the eagle from the sky. You might be able to do it in lightroom with the Adjustment Brush using the color feature at the bottom of the effects panel.

Know you love a challenge. Hope you are having a good day.

Added a Blue Sky to Bald Eagle Photo
Added a Blue Sky to Bald Eagle Photo...

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Sep 20, 2011 11:52:43   #
jonsund Loc: Currently: Florida, USA
 
Arnold, I like the concept but it did not work out well with the eagle.

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Sep 20, 2011 11:56:59   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
James, Thank you very much for your critique. I think the problem that caused the grain in the Eagle's feather was because I cropped into tight on this image. The tonal enhancing I did was resulted from the bad lighting, and it definitely messed up the colors in the Eagle. Arnold Dubin

alaskanfrog wrote:
Nice photo, but too much correction. Sometimes the best photos only require a minimum of color enhancement and correction. Your photo of the eagle is very nicely composed, but the over correction is evident with the graininess that appears. The graininess is more apparent in the darker colors and look like small dots. The grain affect is good for some things and can add a very dramatic flare, but in nature, you lose color details such as the beautiful iridescence and shimmer that is natural to eagle feathers.

I live in Alaska and have seen many, many bald eagles up close and had the privilege of holding and touching them many times over many years. Other than this, it's a beautiful shot.

James
Nice photo, but too much correction. Sometimes th... (show quote)

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Sep 20, 2011 11:59:21   #
jonsund Loc: Currently: Florida, USA
 
Arnold,

Try the switch in Topaz that I told you about also you can remove noise before going into Topaz and that works sometimes.

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Sep 20, 2011 12:03:51   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
Jon, I'll give that a try. Arnold

jonsund wrote:
Arnold,

Try the switch in Topaz that I told you about also you can remove noise before going into Topaz and that works sometimes.

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Sep 20, 2011 12:11:09   #
gdwsr Loc: Northern California
 
Arnold, I always find it difficult to a general request for critique of a photo without knowing what "feeling" you were trying to communicate. I can say that technically, I think it is good except the separation of the Eagle's head from the sky. The feathers of the head have a cool (blue) cast to them so adding blue to the sky really wasn't going to work, even though blue is usually the right color for the sky. I would try something else; perhaps a "stormy" sky?

I am one that tends to like stronger saturation, detail, and contrast, so I think it looks great but since I am not a customer my opinion shouldn't make any difference. If you (or your customer) likes it that is all that is important. However, you did mention the eyes, and I sure feel their penetration due to the color, saturation, detail, and composition.

All that said, what the heck, I have to admit that I really like this photo. :)

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Sep 20, 2011 14:47:50   #
SQUIRL033 Loc: Chehalis, WA
 
i like the pose, but the color/light on the feathers is not natural. adult bald eagles have nowhere near that much white on the tips of their feathers - most have none at all, usually at most a somewhat lighter shade of brown highlights. the grain is undesirable, but at only 5% of the original image size, it's gonna show up no matter what you do. what does this look like with a slightly less drastic crop and no processing?

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Sep 20, 2011 19:55:06   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
gdwsr, I was trying to focus on showing the 2 eyes looking directly at me, which is not common photo you see of an Eagle. The feeling I wanted you to get, was that an Eagle is a very majestic bird. Arnold

======================
gdwsr wrote:
Arnold, I always find it difficult to a general request for critique of a photo without knowing what "feeling" you were trying to communicate. I can say that technically, I think it is good except the separation of the Eagle's head from the sky. The feathers of the head have a cool (blue) cast to them so adding blue to the sky really wasn't going to work, even though blue is usually the right color for the sky. I would try something else; perhaps a "stormy" sky?

I am one that tends to like stronger saturation, detail, and contrast, so I think it looks great but since I am not a customer my opinion shouldn't make any difference. If you (or your customer) likes it that is all that is important. However, you did mention the eyes, and I sure feel their penetration due to the color, saturation, detail, and composition.

All that said, what the heck, I have to admit that I really like this photo. :)
Arnold, I always find it difficult to a general r... (show quote)

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Sep 20, 2011 20:03:26   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
SQUIRL033, I took your advice and cropped it to 21% of the original size and reduced my post processing enhancements I performed on this photo. The noise is just about all gone and feather color looks better. Arnold

SQUIRL033 wrote:
i like the pose, but the color/light on the feathers is not natural. adult bald eagles have nowhere near that much white on the tips of their feathers - most have none at all, usually at most a somewhat lighter shade of brown highlights. the grain is undesirable, but at only 5% of the original image size, it's gonna show up no matter what you do. what does this look like with a slightly less drastic crop and no processing?



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Sep 20, 2011 20:32:15   #
trueblue
 
I Like this last one much better than the other attempts.
I like the comp better and the color too

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Sep 20, 2011 20:35:16   #
Adubin Loc: Indialantic, Florida
 
trueblue, Thanks for your feedback, Arnold

trueblue wrote:
I Like this last one much better than the other attempts.
I like the comp better and the color too

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