linda lagace

i put a few pix on earlier and found the comments I received really helpful
I have had a very difficult time calibrating the new monitor I have so this will really help with my getting a handle on contrast brightness and sharpness
I also like to use photoshop filters so I included some arty things

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RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

The "arty" things (photoshop filters?) are a very personal decision so if you like them that is ok if others do not like them than that is ok as well, providing you are not shooting for a "client".

The exposures are basically ok (I have looked at the histograms on the images that can be downloaded).
The higher ISO shots (800+) do need some noise reduction, especially in the darker areas.
Pic #5 appears to be oversharpened (look at the edges of the wings) and could also do with a bit of noise reduction.

Contrast is another artistic decision and I feel the cloud scape has possibilities with an increase in contrast.

Pic #4 doesn't appear to be sharp, especially around the eyes (which is critical) for a lot of photography.

Esthetically the foreground branch in the duck picture is very distracting.
The birds feet pictures - are they for a record only? If they are then they may meet your needs. They do not appeal to me.

Hope this helps.

Low Budget Dave

Excellent sharpness and detail in the bird shots. You might want to play around with the osprey claw to see if you can highlight the detail. (Because the background brightness is so high, it distracts from the detail in the shadow.)

I am not sure the Huron pose comes off well in B&W. The halo around the bird is even a little distracting. The color halo around the pelican is also distracting. That is just personal preference, but to me it makes the picture less interesting. It is a tough picture to work with, though, because to me, pelicans are only interesting when you can see their eyes.

The rain cloud photo seems a little washed out to me. Clouds can sometimes emphasize blank space, but they can also take a sharp photo and make it look blurry.

The "wrap-around" photo of the egret is interesting and fun, but I think that is one of the cases where it would be better to wait and get the bird headed toward you, or off to one side.

linda lagace

tks

linda lagace

it does help From suggestions I am getting I am going to try with iso < 800 or so and apertures that are bigger I am also going to back off from my 600 mm

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Some of your pix are quite unique. Where such things are understood, they would be very well received, with a bit more composition and technique. If you'd like to see what I mean, PM me for return by PM, or mention here.

linda lagace

surely open to suggestions

linda lagace

sure I am open to suggestions on how to improve these

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

In each, I simply increased the interest in the direction you had chosen.

The feet of both birds were emphasized, in the first by cropping and dodging (feet light areas) and burning (post), the second again by cropping and working on the legs and feet to make them prominent, then bringing the rest of the photo into value and color harmony.

The final, outspread wings, followed the same principle. Increased the contrast in the bird, lightened the background that was too close to the general tone of the bird, and got rid of the sharpening halo.

I hope this helps--you have a very good eye for capturing the essence.

Hawk talons

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Gear up!

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Spread-wing Presence

linda lagace

TKS