Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA  


Elegant Spoonbill by Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

June 2018 - Elegant Spoonbill

June 2018 - Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA

Original

About the Image(s)

Several species used this branch for a launching point, but this juvenile Spoonbill grabbed my attention due to the contrasting colors. I had my Canon 7DMII and 15-600mm Tamron lens at a focal distance of 500mm.
Settings were: ISO 800; F/6.3; 1/2000 sec. I removed part of the branch to simplify the composition, but thought the rest of the background worked pretty well. I adjusted contrast and clarity, did some selective dodge and burn, brushed in some detail, especially on the head and neck, added polarization and tweaked luminosity.
Obviously, this can't be used in a nature competition, but I attempted to get an artistic image that might work as part of an upcoming gallery show.


This round’s discussion is now closed!
8 comments posted




Judith Lesnaw   Judith Lesnaw
Beautiful artistic shot! Masterful removal of the branch. The simplicity, color and background are reminiscent of Albrecht Durer nature paintings. When I initially studied the image, I considered suggesting that the eye be enhanced. Eyes have been a consistent subject of discussion. However, for me this image is about the graceful shape of the bird and the subtle warm colors. Therefore, I would not change a thing. The parallel and diagonal lines formed by the bird's beak and neck, and the branches lead right to those graceful wings. This image will look wonderful in your gallery show.   Posted: 06/05/2018 10:33:54
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
Thank you, Judith. I am not familiar with Durer, but will look him up immediately. I always appreciate art references as I think that studying great artists is a key to good photography.   Posted: 06/05/2018 13:33:38



Carol Sheppard   Carol Sheppard
(Group 95)
This is a beautiful image...impressively sharp for that range, with beautiful color combinations. The light coming through the wings works very well for this image. Overall, I was thinking it might be a bit dark...can you add more luminance to the bird, or maybe vibrance, so it pops a little more from the background?
  Posted: 06/05/2018 17:03:03
Sharon Prislipsky   Sharon Prislipsky
That is a good suggestion, Carol. I will try it.   Posted: 06/17/2018 11:11:28



Mike Cohen   Mike Cohen
I agree, lovely image. It looks like the wing motion caused some motion blur which I know is attractive to maybe the majority of viewers. For me, however, I like to get the wings sharp. The blur robbed some detail from the feathers which I would have liked to see. That said, there is a wow factor to the image given the beauty of the subject and interesting composition that I think makes it a winner. The background and contrasting colors are wonderful. A minor nit, I would have liked the tail feathers not to touch or overlap the snag, but not much you could do about that. I mention it only from a "judging" perspective. One thing that stands out to me, is the soft tonality of the image. I love whatever you did to create that effect. If it could be duplicated, I'd love to know how to do it. On the image I submitted I used Glamor Glow, but that would not produce a texture as nice as this one.   Posted: 06/06/2018 17:11:14



 
What a beautiful end product. I liked the original and liked all that you did in post processing. Good tweaking in the branches on which the spoonbill is sitting. They are richer than the original. The background is wonderfully soft but I liked your original background as well. It is natural yet soft enough for the image. All interest goes to the spoonbill, which is one of my favorite birds. Well done, Sharon.   Posted: 06/10/2018 06:29:20



John Roach   John Roach
(Group 64)
I think it is a marvelous image full of motion, pose, color, detail and compositional excellence. The tonality is beautiful and the texture is wonderful. Well done!   Posted: 06/10/2018 08:41:22



 
Another wonderful capture. Your branch removal is masterful and I like the slight blur at the ends of the wings suggesting motion in landing. You captured the true colors of the young bird and did not bring out brighter pinks that most try to show as in adult birds. Very sharp, detailed and clarity in this image and the background creates a nice contrast to the soft pink. Another keeper.   Posted: 06/17/2018 15:58:14