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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

Blue-billed Duck

Photographed by

Nathan Watson on Sun 24th Nov, 2019 and uploaded on Thu 12th Dec, 2019 .

Resolution

876x1050

Viewed

338

37586

Comment

A few weeks back I took some shots of some Blue-billed Ducks. I generally wasn't happy with most of the shots but going back through them tonight, I found one that might be better than I originally thought. I've cropped it into a profile shape as I thought it worked well vertically given the reflection, and done some minor adjustments in Lightroom to the exposure, contrast and shadows to bring out the Drake's rich colour better. Opening the shadows I lost a bit of bill colour so I've brought this back using a brush, and then used a brush to further open the shadows on the water across the top and bottom of the image to let the Drake stand out as much as possible. I've then adjusted the luminance to remove a little noise. Image taken at f/6.3, 1/1600 and ISO 3200.

Equipment

Canon EOS 5D MKIII, Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Sports lens

Location

Lake Seppings, Western Australia

Keywords

male, adult, breeding plumage/features

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Ian Wilson	2019-12-13 17:19:04	Hello Nathan, I am afraid this one looks a bit too over-processed, verging on the un-natural to my eye. I have found that one needs the light in your favour to get good images of this species and in this case the light was against you. Because it is a relatively common species, especially around Perth, I would be inclined to learn from the experience and go to one of the lakes around Perth with a plan to get that great shot you have in mind. It may take several trips, that is not unusual even for the most experienced bird photographers. On any trip if you are getting one or two really good shots for the day, then you should be happy. I think the concept is good with the portrait crop. I would try a version with the bird even lower in the frame. This will give the perception that the bird is actually closer to the camera and give a more intimate connection with the bird. Good luck with this project, cheers, Ian
Nathan Watson	2019-12-13 20:57:54	--Hi Ian, Thank you again for the feedback. I think I need some more guidance in acceptable post-processing as I certainly don't want to overdo my images. I am a little confused about what is acceptable processing as I see images that to me look heavily processed get quite high praise. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it over time. Initially I didn't think the "improvements" I made with this image greatly departed from how the original image appeared from the camera as I tried to be careful to only make minor adjustments. I have further toned back some of the adjustments I made. If I re-post the image to this gallery with the full info on the post processing I've done, would you be happy to give me more feedback as to whether it's better or not? I would really appreciate that. Thank you, Nathan
Ian Wilson	2019-12-13 23:10:39	Hello Nathan, Some people think the camera never lies but in truth, what comes out of the camera is almost never an accurate rendering of the scene. The lens has a different perspective to the human eye and lighting and colours are perceived differently by the eye. Trust your own eyes and process the picture the way you remember the scene, not the way the camera thinks it should look. One of the most common 'over-processing' issues we see is too much saturation. On social media posts where images are viewed by a largely unsophisticated crowd these images get lots of 'likes'. Generally, we want to see natural colours as many of our images are requested for publication in various ways ranging from magazine illustrations, bird ID materials, to signage in parks and reserves. There is of course a place for images captured in special lighting like at sunset and sunrise when the tonal range is warmer than normal. We also accept images that have creative manipulation of colours in the Creative Gallery. Your image appears to have too much saturation and I can see plumage that looks redder than I expect. Your image also appears to have too much contrast, the wet plumage looks almost icy, not wet. There is not as much feather detail as I expect because I am guessing the bird was not close enough and is consequently a bit small in the frame and you have had to crop more than desirable. Regarding acceptable post-processing; I recommend you have a clear idea in your head of what you want to achieve before you start work. Try to get to the finish with the use of a minimum number of steps and use the minimum number of tools. Image processing software can be very daunting and some photographers don't think they have done a good job unless they fiddle with every available adjustment. Most images need only basic adjustments: brightness (sets white point), white balance, black point, contrast, shadows, highlights, capture sharpening, noise reduction, downsize, output sharpening, convert to JPEG. That's all that will be required for an image that is in focus and properly exposed. Cheers, Ian PS Don't hold back asking specific questions and by all means post re-worked images for critique. It works best if you ask for feedback on particular issues about which you want advice.
Nathan Watson	2019-12-14 00:09:05	--Hi Ian, That is very helpful guidance. Agree with you on the image, yes I was a bit far away and consequently there is a lack of feather detail. I'll head back out and aim to get a better photo in due course, but in the meantime i'll re-post the image for more feedback if that's ok. I've followed your advice re adjustments and can see the differences you are pointing out. I think the second image is better and looks more natural now, and I'd welcome your comments. I'll then delete this one from the gallery so I'm not doubling up on images. Regards Nathan
Ian Wilson	2019-12-14 08:02:30	No problem Nathan, glad to help if I can. Post your re-worked image as soon as you have it ready. Please leave your images on this gallery as other members are interested and like to follow the discussion. From that point of view it can be a valuable learning resource. Images posted to this gallery will eventually be deleted by the Administrator, I think they have a latency of three months before being deleted.

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