Bud Ralston  

Allen's Hummingbird with Bumblebee by Bud Ralston

December 2024 - Allen's Hummingbird with Bumblebee

December 2024 - Bud Ralston

Original

About the Image(s)

Individual photos pop out as I review my photo files and clean up hard drives. This photo of an Allen's hummingbird with a bumblebee is one such. The original image was a bit noisy, and the bumblebee needed to be sharper. I was intrigued to try the new Topaz software on it.



Nikon Z9, Nikon Z70– 200 mm, F2.8 VR S, 200 mm , 1/3200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 640, +1 EV



I opened the original photo in Topaz Photo AI and applied the upscale and denoise enhancements. I then cropped the photo to remove some of the extraneous distractions and opened it in Photoshop. I used the generative expand in Photoshop to provide extra space around the hummingbird and the bumblebee. I used the replace brush to remove some of the distracting limbs and cleaned it up with the spot healing brush. I then returned the Photo to LRC.

2 comments posted

Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Overall this is an interesting image as it includes interaction between species. While you used technology to add space I still find both the bird and the bee to be too close to the edges of the frame. What bothers me is looking at the original it is a square and clearly your original RAW file is not square so where are the missing pixels? There had to be more image on at least one edge and using some of that would have given more space for either the bird or the bee.

The other thing I see the the over sharpened feathers of the bird. They positively look crunchy. That sharpening should, in my opinion be back off a bit. That is a very common look when Topaz is used.   Posted: 12/08/2024 13:51:52
Cindy Marple   Cindy Marple
Cool to catch the apparent interaction, and the bird is in a very nice pose with a lovely background.
Unfortunately I think the connection between the 2 is tainted by the amount of space between them, while they are both crammed up against the frame edges. It feels more like 2 different subjects, than any connection. A lot more space all around would help with that. If you don't have more space, I'd be inclined to make this just about the bird and leave the bee out. You lose the story but I believe you'd have a stronger image. My 2 cents...   Posted: 12/11/2024 21:05:17

 

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