A crop question, and does size matter

Jack'll do

Are the first two images images too large to post since they really are a problem for those using laptops? Having a 30" monitor I tend to forget that. As to the crop issue, I prefer the second one since it produces a larger, more detailed subject but I would anticipate getting told that it violates the "rule" regarding subject placement in the frame, or that it's too tight.

Here is the original crop.



Here is a second crop done to better show the catchlight and other detail




Here they are in Large size (the above are X2)

Ric Grupe

The first one is fine by me on my measly 26" monitor!

Cool shot too.

Andee

I like the second one the best love the details and I do not have to use the slider on my LT. Even tho my LT is a widescreen the first image has a slider and does not fit on mine. Cool creatures, thanks for posting them!

Jack'll do

Ric Grupe wrote: »

The first one is fine by me on my measly 26" monitor!

Cool shot too.

Thanks Ric
I take it you prefer the wider crop to the tighter.

Jack'll do

Gabby G wrote: »

I like the second one the best love the details and I do not have to use the slider on my LT. Even tho my LT is a widescreen the first image has a slider and does not fit on mine. Cool creatures, thanks for posting them!

That's good to know Gabby. I love the detail too but all of these are a bit oversharpened. They have a white line around the head and down the back that I didn't see until now. I've fixed it on my copy and will be posting the new one in a series i'll be posting soon.

Andee

Jack'll do wrote: »

That's good to know Gabby. I love the detail too but all of these are a bit oversharpened. They have a white line around the head and down the back that I didn't see until now. I've fixed it on my copy and will be posting the new one in a series i'll be posting soon.

I learned something new once again! I love real sharpness and can tell on somethings about over sharpening but the white line around it I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the lesson about the over sharpening white line. Appreciate it!

JohnDC

I have a Dell 27" U2711 monitor. Both look ok to me, but I prefer the larger one.
I agree about the over sharpening (was the pixel radius set too high?). In addition, the colors, especially the background, seem off. They look washed out, like a postcard that was badly printed. Can these be adjusted in PhotoShop to get them closer to normalcy? This would make this nice photo a lot richer.
---John

Jack'll do

JohnDC wrote: »

I have a Dell 27" U2711 monitor. Both look ok to me, but I prefer the larger one.
I agree about the over sharpening (was the pixel radius set too high?). In addition, the colors, especially the background, seem off. They look washed out, like a postcard that was badly printed. Can these be adjusted in PhotoShop to get them closer to normalcy? This would make this nice photo a lot richer.
---John

Aaaaaakkkkk These images have spent hours in photoshop after raw conversion. The problem is that the subjects and their actions were great but the lighting was horrendous. The birds and I are standing in deep shows. The area just beyond the birds and out into the lake is bathed in full sun. You cn see the line between sun and shade on the bird on the right. masking and layering several exposures might work but that is quite tedious, nevertheless I might try it. Not sure I want to waste any more time on it though.The range of lighting is just too great for a single exposure to handle. I even tried a single image HDR approach without success.

As for the sharpening, I was trying to eke out some detail in the feathers and overdid it. I fixed it and posted the results here in a three image set of their taking flight. Were it not for the fact that I had captured their takeoff and flight, I would never have bothered with and certainly wouldn't have posted these images.