Pat Coble
April 2026 - Hanging Out with Friends
About the Image(s)
SS 1000 ISO 1000 f14
Documenting sandhill cranes.
I need to find a better crop or a way to erase the birds at the end to give the image more breathing room.
I shifted the saturation and illumination for blue, red, and yellow tones. I lowered the exposure and blacks. Increased some texture and contrast.
7 comments posted
Pat, I like your image of the Cranes. They are a great subject. I find the birds are over exposed and create the impression that you used a giant flash and don't look natural.
Here are some ideas to consider. For the adjusted image, I opened the image in PS and used the clone stamp to remove the body along the right hand side. I also used Content Aware Fill to remove the dark part of the reflection and the clone stamp to touch up the light part of the reflection. I cropped down from the top to remove the reeds and to bring emphasis to the birds. Posted: 04/09/2026 21:27:41
Here are some ideas to consider. For the adjusted image, I opened the image in PS and used the clone stamp to remove the body along the right hand side. I also used Content Aware Fill to remove the dark part of the reflection and the clone stamp to touch up the light part of the reflection. I cropped down from the top to remove the reeds and to bring emphasis to the birds. Posted: 04/09/2026 21:27:41
Thank you Marcus. I must have pulled the exposure up too much! When I rework I will bring that down. I like the way you have cropped, it makes the upper part of the image more harmonious. I will see if I can figure out the cloning and content aware in PS as you have accomplished exactly what I thought it needed. Posted: 04/14/2026 19:32:31
You've got some interesting poses with these cranes! I agree with Marcus about the crop but I might remove more of the other birds, unless that bothers you to alter the image too much. this is my first time at adjusting someone else's image. I hope I did it correctly-and you don't mind that I did this. Posted: 04/09/2026 23:01:45
Thank you Sue. I appreciate you taking the time to work with the image! I do like it without the other birds, other than the scale to show how big the cranes are, they did not add much to the 'story'. Posted: 04/14/2026 19:34:36
The lighter areas on the birds appear a little over-exposed however you've captured a variety of wildlife activity in one image which should be commended. Posted: 04/16/2026 18:15:24
I like the cranes with the birds in front and behind them instead of on a blank canvas. But yes, it improves the image if you croup out the far shore, as Marcus has done. And the bird on the right bleeding off the frame did bother me. In general, I don't like to alter nature images too much, especially in this age of generative AI. Posted: 04/18/2026 17:44:34
I agree that the image overall, and especially the cranes, are too bright. I'm noticing how much my eyes want to linger on the lovely tones Sue got in her version. I also like her crop, removing the far shore but leaving its reflection. A wonderful image and worth a second pass at processing! Posted: 04/18/2026 21:15:50