Susan Cifaldi  

Sign of a Redtail by Susan Cifaldi

February 2025 - Sign of a Redtail

February 2025 - Susan Cifaldi

Original

About the Image(s)



GEAR Nikon Z9 with PF 500 and 1.4 tele. That's all PS would tell me, stupif progr
I guess neither of us had enough sense to get out of the snow. It was getting pretty slippery, so I didn't wait around to see where s/he was giong to end up.

I didn't do much to this image, lightened it a bit and played with the sliders to make sure the white wasn't too bright and to enhance the snowfall. Also, did the obligatory de-noising, and then got rid of whatever that white streak was behind this fella.

Having a terrible time with PS. It would not accept the raw file (all I could get was a white locked screen) so this raw file is the next one in the series. Neither Camera Raw nor PS would show me the exif data, so all I can saw is that it was pretty close to f/8. The noise really wasn't so bad, so I'm guessing I had a decent ISO and a low enough shutter to catch the available light. It was pretty late in the day. around 4, so there wasn't really much light at all.

I am giving up on PS. When I call tech support they tell me that my compiuter and video card are more than sufficient to run the program, but I can't keep loading and re-loading it hoping it will work. Any suggestions? Is the Nikon program any good

PS Sorry I missed January, was in the hospital with RSV for a while. Get your shot, it's one of those viruses that is best to avoid.

12 comments posted

Butch Mazzuca   Butch Mazzuca
First of all I want to comment on your chosen subject - This is a great wildlife photograph, capturing both the beauty and power of the hawk, but in a unique setting. The combination of nature, the road sign and SNOW creates a compelling contrast. My issue is with the postprocessing - see my VF. Can you explain what those are?   Posted: 02/05/2025 22:15:19
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Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
Thank you for your kind words -- and for the criticism. I think those "shadows" (which I didn't notice in my post-
RSV haze) is a leftover from the removal of the white thing. I probably had the removal tool set too big. I will play with it again --IF stupid PS will let me.

I see you are new here, so let me explain that I am the resident newbie, trying my best to improve. This forum reallyreallyREALLY helps, especially with comments like yours. Thanks again!   Posted: 02/07/2025 20:12:00
Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
Susan is not giving herself the credit she deserves. She has made amazing progress since she joined the group. She works hard at her craft.   Posted: 02/07/2025 21:07:36
Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
I think you are my favorite person today. :-)   Posted: 02/07/2025 21:30:51
Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
Is this better?   Posted: 02/07/2025 21:30:16
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Larry Treadwell   Larry Treadwell
SOOOOO Kool! I absolutely LOVE the snow shot!! You just validate my point-- Bad Weather makes for Good Images!! I'm really thrilled you posted this. For a touch of humor ZI also like the idea of the sign for the hawk to sit upon. PLEASE< PLEASE tell me you also got a shot with the hawk on the sign with the entire sign showing!!!!! This think of the potential captions and the possible humor.

I'm afraid I've got to go along with Butch and question the background. There are some pretty "funky" things going on in the background. Were you shooting through a window? It almost looks like some ghosting. Any thoughts?   Posted: 02/06/2025 02:11:17
Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
No, was just standing there in the snow. I suspect (and I could be wrong) that the wide open aperture created a nice blurred background. . .which, unfortunately included the snowfall as well as the trees behind our friend the Redtail, making for an unintelligible mixture of light (snow) and dark (trees). That is the only thing I can think of to explain things.

What Butch pointed out I think are leftover shadows from Photoshop removal tool, por maybe the clone stamp. (After removing the hazy white branch, I cloned in some snowflakes. . .maybe I picked up unintended parts of the image as well.) I'm going to play with it again and see if I can repair my repairs :-)

I do have the entire sign, it's an arrow that warns of a left-hand curve in the road. I was going to use that image but the sign is huge compared to this litte fella, and this is a nature forum, so. . .

Thanks for your enthusiastic approval, it really helps guide me in many ways.

  Posted: 02/07/2025 21:07:36
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Cindy Marple   Cindy Marple
What a great story this is, with the bird in the snowstorm. You had a pretty fast shutter speed to turn those flakes in to dots, so probably the f/stop was wide open. Your re-worked image looks great, I think you're right about the spots being clone artifacts.
The original does have some humor to it- the bird is looking in the opposite direction that the arrow is pointing.
As for processing tools, I'm using Capture One along with a VERY old version of PS. Never touched Lightroom. It is a very good editor and more comparable to LR than PS in terms of capability, particularly in terms of merging bits of 2 different images (it can't).
Another one that I've had recommended to me is DXO Pure Raw. I haven't played with it but may do that this year. Both of these offer free trials.   Posted: 02/08/2025 23:17:08
Michael Weatherford   Michael Weatherford
Yes this is a cool shot. Nice pose on possibly a Red-shouldered Hawk - looking for directions. I agree that you should show the entire sign. No, bird, the road goes the other way! Did you know there's a Facebook group called "Birds on Signs"?   Posted: 02/16/2025 04:45:27
Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
IDK, "which way is the Road Less Traveled?"   Posted: 02/18/2025 16:46:02
David Kepley   David Kepley
Susan, what a great moment! Love the bird of a street sign! You even got the bird at the apex of the sign! Love the snow too. Another way to handle snow is to shoot at say 1/25 sec to get snow streaks, but then you would have to hope that the bird stayed still! Trad offs. I also noticed the blob that butch pointed out. Just use the healing brush in ps to brush it out. I love the soft background! Bravo susan!   Posted: 02/18/2025 16:34:25
Susan Cifaldi   Susan Cifaldi
Thank you everyone! Still learning (obviously), and all your comments really help!

I should have tried the slow shutter. . .would have improved the light capture, and if it did move, I could pan and see what would happen. And yes, the show would have been nice and streaky.

Birds on Signs! Will check it out :-) Also plan on checking out the Capture One and DXO.

  Posted: 02/18/2025 16:44:20

 

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