Owl

I'm back! :-) Darn that leaf in the foreground ... it was the best

shot I had of him. Anyway ... any comments or ratings are always

appreciated. Happy New Year everyone!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Lou Ann!

Great Shot...wish the green branch in the foreground was not there!

And Happy New Year to you Lou Ann

 

I know what you mean about the leaf in the foreground but without it the photo would have been more ordinairy. I think the leafs in the foreground and in the background is supplying the photo some 3D. The owl looks fine - observing, wise and unapproachable and the colors of the bird are fine. Good eyes.

Great capture, lou Ann. Its strong stare is very powerful and the colour balance excellent. I do like the frame, as well

great subject and it is very nice capture. Good detail. The fg and bg leaves are somewhat a little hot. Overall very nice.

Lou Ann, how can you resist playing with this one? This is where PS can really help you out. The owl itself is very well-done, but the background spoils it somewhat. Even a simple light rendering could improve it by toning down the bright leaves and focusing attention on the owl. This is also a good place to use cloning and get rid of those hot leaves. I find the color leans a bit on the magenta side. This has the potential to be a really great composition.

Happy New Year to you Lou Ann, great photo to begin the year, I like the photo and I like the foreground.

Okay, Kim-the-photoshop-queen ... I JUST got myself a copy of Photoshop cs (four days ago!) ... and haven't learned how to use it yet! Why don't you take some time and show me what you mean by all of those adjustments that you suggested. Feel free to play with it! :-)

I'll play when I get home tonight and will post the results for you. :)

Wonderful subject,good composition!!

Lou Ann, A fine shot to be sure. I agree with Kim on the solution for the bright leaves but part company with those who say the colour balance is fine. To my eye it leans to the magenta, meaning a little more green is called for in the bird. Easy to do once you get familiar with PS. This one does nothing to disillusion me about my favourable feelings toward Superia Xtra 800. You've done well with it. There are some blown spots that may be cloned out or perhaps could have been prevented through the use of a polarizer. Best LM.

Happy New Year to you too!

This is by far one of the best shots of a live owl. Congrats! You were able to seize the moment to have such beautiful production. I had joyfully frustrated myself playing accomplice on Plum Island, Massachusetts for a popular PN buddy. But we couldn't even get "our" owl to cooperate like yours, not to speak of the leaves in the FG/BG milieu.

I see Len has already played with your bird. I did a little extra to jazz it up. Remember it was a quick job on a low-resolution image. When you have the original, it's easier to get better results, but it will give you an example of what you can do.

Thanks, Kim ... I love it!! It's going to take me FOREVER to learn all the finer points of photoshop. But ... it will be a fun process!! :-)

Hi Lou Ann. Although the color could be adjusted somewhat, I don't mind the light leaves. IMO the owl stands out even more. Aren't they magnificent birds?

Very nice color and detail some of the other version added in the commet section are also very nice.

Great detail in this shot. I really like what Kim did with rendering in PS. The color adjustment looks more realistic with the adjustment above also by another Pn user. Combine the two and resubmit for ratings and comments. This is a great capture!

couldn?t resist making some changes to this photo Lou Ann, I hope you don?t mind. I believe the original photo may have been slightly over saturated and sharpened so I you don?t mind the following suggestions. (1) No more than 30% saturation & no more than 40-50% sharpens.

(2) 1 or 2 apply image

(3) History brush around the owl leaving the background darker than the foreground similar to what you did with the school in your other photo.

(4) Using the magnetic brush (this step might not be necessary and depends on how much you previously sharpened the photo) outline the owl carefully.

(5) Hit Ctrl a+Ctrl c+hit your channel button at the bottom of the channel pallet which will give you a black page?then Ctrl v to past a black and white image over the black.

(6) Hit Ctrl L for levels and move your far right cursor toward the center (making the background lighter) then move the bottom left cursor in toward the L cursor until they are about and inch apart.

(7) Go to Filter+Stylize+find edges then Select + Inverse

(8) Go to filter and select unsharpened mask (setting about 200 then .5 and no threshold).

(9) Go to your channel the bottom channel card with your cursor and hit ctrl+L/H mouse button

(10) Ctrl d then move your cursor up to your RPG card and things should looks something like the photo I am posting of course you play around with these steps until you get something that is appealing to you.

 

I hope you can follow the instruction I left I realize they are not the best so feel free to ask questions if your interested. Like I said I think the photo might be improved (doesn't necessary need it) if the sharpening where reduced on the orginal and USM used instead.

Thanks, Gerry! I like it!! I'm ALWAYS interested in PS advice!!!