Swamp turtles and a Lesser Scaup

PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
edited February 6, 2013 in Wildlife
What a difference a week makes. We have the Great Egrets just starting to return now. Here are a couple of shots from the last couple of days. All suggestions are welcome and appreciated! Best, Pam

1) Lesser Scaup diving duck. ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/800 sec, 500 mm lens + 1.4 TC, no exposure comp. This photo is no work of art, but this is the closest I have been able to get to these ducks so far. Harry told me something that is very true of these high ISO photos. Any adjustments to the BG need to be done in Lightroom or Photoshop, not NIK.

2013-0128_Lesser_Scaup_Avery_Island-12N-L.jpg

2) Our turtles are not as clean as Harry's "Let's Move It" turtle, but they enjoy the sun just as much. When I first looked at the photo, I thought I counted more heads than bodies, but I think I have reconciled the difference. (ISO 1600, f/6.3, 1/1000 second, 500 mm + 1.4 TC)

2013-0127_Turtle_Avery_Island_1A-L.jpg

Comments

  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2013
    You know, sometimes it is just better to give up and send a photo to the scrap bin. That lesser scaup photo is just a loser, I'm sorry to say, because it is the best one I have. The red-looking shadows or streaks in the image are reeds I was shooting through. At first I thought they were brought about by post processing, but they are in the original photo, too, just not as obvious because it had quite a bit of noise. I'm going to keep it for documentary purposes, and pray I get a better opportunity soon! Best, Pam
  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2013
    PGM wrote: »
    You know, sometimes it is just better to give up and send a photo to the scrap bin. That lesser scaup photo is just a loser, I'm sorry to say, because it is the best one I have. The red-looking shadows or streaks in the image are reeds I was shooting through. At first I thought they were brought about by post processing, but they are in the original photo, too, just not as obvious because it had quite a bit of noise. I'm going to keep it for documentary purposes, and pray I get a better opportunity soon! Best, Pam

    Nonsense. I like the scaup capture a lot. The eye stands out and you have some nice light on your subject.

    The BG gets real funky when I review the original size but when viewed at a normal viewing distance it looks fine. Some more care in the processing (like applying affects locally) would help. I would apply some blur on the background and do some cloning on the funky spots.

    Its not your best capture but its hardly a loser.
    Harry
    http://behret.smugmug.com/ NANPA member
    How many photographers does it take to change a light bulb? 50. One to change the bulb, and forty-nine to say, "I could have done that better!"
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited February 5, 2013
    I seem to have accidentally deleted the original Lesser Scaup photo after I tried to apply Harry's greatly appreciated suggested changes. Thank you, Harry!

    Best, Pam

    2013-0128_Lesser_Scaup_Avery_Island-12O-L.jpg
  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins
    edited February 6, 2013
    Fwiw, I'd agree with Harry re the scaup pic - well worth keeping.

    Whilst I rarely succeed, getting decent shots of subjects (esp. eyes) behind foliage / reeds etc @ water level can work well at times.

    pp
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  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited February 6, 2013
    Paul, no one gets at water level better than you, and it makes your photos so striking and unique! The reeds around this very large pond are thick and tall with alligators around, and then the ground slopes up a little to the road, so that at least I can see the pond. But these ducks are very skittish, and love to flee to the other side when anyone approaches.

    Keep showing the rest of us how to do it! And thanks for your comments. Best, Pam
  • Dennis KaczorDennis Kaczor Registered Users Posts: 2,413 Major grins
    edited February 6, 2013
    Pam, I read Harry's comments and I have to be in agreement with him. It may not be your best shot of the Lesser Scaup, but it's still a keeper. I also agree with the processing suggestions he has also made, and it can only improve the overall image in the long run.
    Regards - Dennis

    Dennis Kaczor Photography
  • PGMPGM Registered Users Posts: 2,007 Major grins
    edited February 6, 2013
    Dennis Kaczor wrote: »
    Pam, I read Harry's comments and I have to be in agreement with him. It may not be your best shot of the Lesser Scaup, but it's still a keeper. I also agree with the processing suggestions he has also made, and it can only improve the overall image in the long run.

    Thanks, Dennis! I am quite certain that every suggestion I have ever received from Harry or you has improved my images in the long run and the short run! Thank you so much for all of your help! Best, Pam
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