finally, and congrats on the KF. As you know about the skies......slight level adjustments will alter that blue very easily, so if you have a series in the same area suggest pp for sky consistency and then selectively take care of your subject. These skies look quite good IMO except for the cyan looking one in #4......looks like some blue desat was done and left that behind. Not a good idea to use hue/sat on skies, the hue mix is too complicated. Better IMO to use a levels adj on the skies, usually just bringing in the high side after colorbalance is done Seems you may have oversharpened #7 a bit. I like those belted KF a bunch....got more? Good luck with your calibration ...Show more →
Hey thanks for the C & C Dave > It's appreciated. And as usual you are spot on. After my calibration the blues just looked so far off it threw off my entire PP workflow. I was fixed on it being a WB Problem and started using a Photoshop WB workflow to fix the problem. It didnt' seem to be helping so I went to Saturation to fix it...... In some images it helped and others it did not............. I totally left out my normal workflow out of frustration >> The first thing I normally do in PS is Levels......... ughhhh I went back and worked the Kestrel image again and levels was dead on............... ughhhh again !!
I am not seeing the oversharpen on 7 but your eye is much better than mine. Sorry about that
I do have more of the KF but they are same perch just different head positions.........
I'm at the river house and can't comment on the colors as I'm using my laptop. For what it is worth colors look generally good and doesn't appear to be any problem with them . The only problem I see is with the photographer. JK The Kestrel and the KF look great. I found the angle on the Falcon a bit too steep, but that is the way it is. Beautiful detail in the Hummer. Socrate
Sorry your away Socrate. Thanks for commenting from your laptop though. Your right about the steep angle of the Falcon >> But hey >> It's my first images and I was posting them regardless
BC infected by Antz - I wonder if Antibiotics would fix that You got a couple of keepers on this set. I let you have all the fun on #6 and will let you take all the glory, even if I have about 10 shots for the same location that probably blow yours away - I was more interested in the good burds we got that day Beware of the monstor Hummer - on my screen it looks like it's about 10x nornal size - Wow! I see some of your best stuff came from the afternoon trip out to BC where you got some great shots of the paparazzi loving peregrine and the killer Harrier - both captured nicely. I think the Kestrel is over sharpend a tad and that is a very interesting crop decision Fun Stuff Ant. If you decide to come down I'll show you the secret yak country that no one else ever exploits - Osprey and harriers almost gauranteed.... If not this weekend then the next good weather break if you're up for it. Zm Zm...Show more →
Thanks Zoom. Yea I couldn't resist posting that hummer for widescreens
The afternoon was a good shoot > Wish you could have been there buddy.
Dave mentioned the over sharpening on the Kestrel also >> I'm just not seeing it > Looks fine to me >> But my eyes aren't trained as well as Dave and yours. I guess it
takes time and more experience.......... I guess
Lookin forward to Yak City > The wife wasn't feeling well and I decided to stay home
and baby her a bit. If she gets to feeling better I may try to sneak down for a few dayzz
Hey Ant... Happy New Year man! It was a total blast getting to shoot with you... you can crash our picnic anytime buddy. Glad you finally got calibrated, these look f-ANT-astic on my uncalibrated laptop... Absolutely sick detail and color on King Hummer. Very nice shotz of the welcoming committee... great pose in #3. PF Flyer in #4 is excellent... nicely exposed, super sharp, great eye contact... bomb.com dude. Love that golden light in #5... sweet moment there, great detail. I like #6 a lot... would like it even better if you cropped it about mid-mud... Karla -nit. Kestrel is a beauty... congrats on the first! KF's are awesome, loooooove the first one... No IF's Not to worry, I got those with my Nikon gear. Nice work on the PF chillin'... maybe next time he'll come down and take a closer look at the Antman. Excellent series man... keep 'em coming... Kirk P.S. Can't wait to see your CWW's... Bad Zoom... very bad Zoom... ...Show more →
LMAO You a funny guy Kirk
Yea you did get the IF KF for sure. I should have been carrying the Mark II N for B/U with the 100-400 or the 400 on it.......... Oh well At least you had my back bro
Thanks for the Kudos Mr B it was a pure blast shootin with ya. I hope we can do it again
some time soon!!!!
Ant,
WOW! These are all looking pretty darn stellar man.
Lighting and detail on the NH is sweet. KF shots look great with good detail.
I like the frame on the Kestral and the complimentary colors, and detail in the bird are very pleasing. Love the pose in #5. BC looks great, thanks for posting him large.
Hey it was worth the wait Ant, awesome job on all of these. And it appears the L.A. group survived the Antattack. The hummer and the kestrel are super, but I reserve my favourite for both of the kingfisher shots. Very nice. Rob
Well I hope the Ant Attack didn't damage anyone beyond healing
It was an awesome time and I'm amazed at the wildlife available to photograph.
Thanks for the kind comment Rob I appreciate it very much. Glad you enjoyed them.
Ant, I was wondering when you would post the shots from your trip to So.CA and after I saw all these stunning images, I bet 7 hour drive to So.CA was worh it! It's hard to pick my favorite but #5 is my pic. Hide
It was worth it Hide and I appreciate your commenting. Your Hummer images are stellar!!
Ok here is my sincere C&C to help ya buddy. Too many crops with the subject being on the left or lower left of the image, if you have too many facing subjects to the right try flopping the image in PS and have them face to the left great trick (I used this in my sucky spoonbill post) Falcon is nice and sharp (on the breast feathers that is) next time focus on the head, also, too low of perspective for me.. sorry... if you have to tap your focus point with the joystick. I know you liked playing with my joystick in YS. LMAO ...Show more →
You were right about one thing >> Your Spoonbill shotz did suck
Hi Ant, great series. I like the monster hummer and the falcons the best. Very careful brilliant PP with lots details and smooth tones. Nothing wrong with the sky on my (calibrated with Eye-One) monitors: all hues of blue you've presented are acceptable ... -mirek
Wow thanks for the huge boost in confidence Mirek
I thank you kindly sir.
Glad you enjoyed them
thanks for the super comment
Wow man the exposures on these are amazing, you seem to balance the sky and the subject so well.
thanks so much Mohammed for your comments. I tried really really hard
I probably post processed each of these photos 5 times each...... ughhhhh
I just didn't have a lot of confidence my calibration was right. I think I'm over
it now
Ant - Very nice images from your trip down to SoCal. I have to agree with others that shot #5 is the pick of the crop. That Hummer in shot #1 is a attention grabber too. Happy New Year. - Ken
Hey ken >> We tried to find you at BC. You weren't at your "Perch" on the bridge
Hopefully we can cross paths next time. I don't know how you get any shooting done
down there > Everyone is so friendly I think I'd wind up chatting most of the time and miss the shot....... over and over ...........
Hi, all of these are stunning...my wife just ooed at them....so I made the point of suggesting I would be as good if I had your gear....a complete lie, but you never know how it might influence wife's purchasing ear :-)))!! One question though. On number 6. Did you pan with the bird, or did you wait until it came into shot?? Thanks
thanks for commenting and the kind words I appreciate it a lot. Good luck with the gear the girlz can be tuff on acquiring gear Fortunately my wife can't complain much >> I bought her 150 acres in the country so I have a hand up on her
I panned the little feller. He was coming right at me and I started shooting burst mode as he got close to the shore.
Yo NellooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo
Hey look who's back...little red riding hood Ant i'm seeing some slight hues in your skies (magenta in #9) and a bit of green in #5...but is barely noticeable No need to make a drama out of it You really nailed these buddy...what a show specially the raptors and KFs sure looks like it was worth the trip! some of your best shots I've seen from you...maybe you should go down again
back for a few more days anyway Nello. Works been a real Bear lately. Seems like the patients have been more critically Ill lately and no time at work to surf and to exhausted when I get home. Thanks for the thoughts on the sky. They really throw me off. but I'm happy with where they are I guess. Close enough for Not Printing
Thanks for the props bro >> I had a trip planned for this weekend but it hasn't worked out......... Oh well there's always next week or two
It seems like the west coast is full of Fredmiranda nature shooter run-ins. So, who is going to design the name tags? I had to scroll right a bit on your hummer I guess I could use a bigger screen too Awesome shots, especially the PF and NH.
Name tags huh > Not a bad idea. We'll have to make Zoom in charge of that one
Sorry about the scrolling on the hummer >> Just couldn't resist posting that one on the larger than life size
2, 5 and 7 rock! I defer to Karl on the blue-sky stuff -- blue skies drive me nuts too. But then, so do gray skies. And white skies. But NOT foggy skies. So there. Smooches S
Glad to know I"m not the only one miffed by the bluessss
Thanks for dropping by on one of your rare trips through Fm land Susan
Always nice to hear from you Pumpkin
zz