Barnegat Hen

Arthur Morris · Dec 15, 2011

Harlequin-Duck-hen-50%-TONAL-CONTRAST-&-50%-DETAILS-EXTRACTOR-only-on-duck--_Y9C1629--Barnegat-J.jpg

Arthur Morris
Image Copyright Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows

This hen Harlequin Duck was photographed on Monday afternoon past at the Barnegat Jetty with the Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens, the 1.4X III TC, and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 500. Evaluative metering +1 2/3 stops: 1/40 sec. at f/11. (You gotta love four-stop IS).

Covered the o-o-f head of a male with a mussel Quick Mask. NIK Color Efex Pro 4.0 on the duck only at 50% follow by Detail Extractor.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

Randy Stout · Dec 15, 2011

Artie:

I am setting here in the dark, no power, but the 3G ipad saves the day.

Excellent feather detail, sharp, well exposed. Nice eye and like the water BG. A little steep shooting angle, but I suspect that location has some real limitations in that regard.

Would enjoy seeing the original with the male intact, curious how you handled his eviction. Mussel quick mask, I like it! :t3

Cheers

Randy

Jim Crosswell · Dec 15, 2011

Great image Arthur! I like the bed of Mussels, details, exposure and BG.

Bob Pelkey · Dec 15, 2011

This is a great example of why I find beach photography especially interesting. The image is almost surreal.

Bill Dix · Dec 15, 2011

Very serene. Lovely detail. Might have wished for a lower angle, but that's not always easy at the jetty without taking your life in your hands. Is Mussel Quick Mask one of the new features of Color Efex Pro? Gotta get it.

Arthur Morris · Dec 15, 2011

_Y9C1629--Barnegat-Jetty,-Barnegat-Light,-NJ.jpg

Arthur Morris
Image Copyright Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Windows

For Randy

Here is a JPEG that represents the converted RAW file.

Arthur Morris · Dec 15, 2011

Bill Dix said:
Very serene. Lovely detail. Might have wished for a lower angle, but that's not always easy at the jetty without taking your life in your hands. Is Mussel Quick Mask one of the new features of Color Efex Pro? Gotta get it.

Thanks Bill et al. I was sitting on the lowest rock around

. I like staying out of the water there in winter....

Randy Stout · Dec 15, 2011

Artie:
Very nice replacement. My only thought is that when you flipped the background from right to left to fill in the evicted male, that the diagonal mussel with second one on top of it like a hat is distinctive enough that it does tip off the viewer that something was done.

Cheers

Randy

Arthur Morris · Dec 15, 2011

Randy Stout said:
Artie: Very nice replacement. My only thought is that when you flipped the background from right to left to fill in the evicted male, that the diagonal mussel with second one on top of it like a hat is distinctive enough that it does tip off the viewer that something was done. Cheers, Randy

Your critique would have had more validity if you had spotted it before I showed you where the work was done

. I did warp and transform the layer a bit.

Randy Stout · Dec 15, 2011

Artie:

I did see the two diagonal ones in your original picture, and figured out what had been done, since the odds of them being exactly at the same angle, just flipped, are astronomical. Guess I will have to be bolder next time, and state my thoughts. I tend to be too subtle at times. Part of the reason I asked to see the original was to comfirm my impression of how you did it!
:bg3:

I think if you darkened the light tip of one of the diagonal shells, that I would never have noticed it the first time around.

Cheers

Randy

Melissa Groo · Dec 15, 2011

Love this portrait--the soft light, the colors, but most of all the mix of textures with the fine brown feathers and those sharp looking mussels.

Arthur Morris · Dec 15, 2011

Randy Stout said:
Artie:

I did see the two diagonal ones in your original picture, and figured out what had been done, since the odds of them being exactly at the same angle, just flipped, are astronomical. Guess I will have to be bolder next time, and state my thoughts. I tend to be too subtle at times. Part of the reason I asked to see the original was to comfirm my impression of how you did it!
:bg3:

I think if you darkened the light tip of one of the diagonal shells, that I would never have noticed it the first time around.

Cheers

Randy

Likely story. :S3: The timid are always left behind. Next time nail me first and ask questions later.... It could be fixed but....

Andrew McLachlan · Dec 15, 2011

Nice capture Arthur...I love the mussel foreground. I love mussels in a garlic butter sauce :S3:

Alan Murphy · Dec 15, 2011

Perfect HA and killer detail.

Karl Egressy · Dec 15, 2011

Great detail, HA and composition, Artie.

Stu Bowie · Dec 16, 2011

Hi Artie, clever work down below, would have never picked it up. Excellent detail throughout the hen, and just love the horizon refelected in the eye.

Ofer Levy · Dec 16, 2011

Getting such a sharp image with 1120mm lens at 1/40th of a second is pretty amazing stuff!!!!

Sachin Saraf · Dec 16, 2011

Wonderful Image Artie and that truly is an amazingly sharp image at 1/40 and 1120mm...I have been there and I know how tough it is to get lower angle...I did not even try going as low as you went here....and you managed to get the BG pretty nice considering the waves are always rough around where this one is sitting...

Grace Scalzo · Dec 16, 2011

Glad to see that the hen of this species was not overlooked. A real beauty. Love the detail, her relaxed state, the mussel bed, and even the way the wave at the top loosely frames her.

Don Lacy · Dec 16, 2011

Very nice image Artie the water drops on the Hen are a nice extra touch.

Barnegat Hen

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