European Red Squirrel

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON Z 9
• NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x
• ƒ/9
• 800mm
• 1/1000s
• ISO 3200
• 50.078388333333
• 14.401171666667
• 228m above sea level
• Fri, 24 May 2024 10:52 PM
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5.1 (Windows)

Finally getting around to posting this photo largely for Gabriela Plesea from comments in Northern Palm Squirrel that I posted on August 23,2024.

This photo was captured in the Kinsky Garden (Kinského zahrada) due east of Most Legii on the west side of the River Vltava in Prague, Czechia). This is a crop from a portrait shot. I would say about 40% of full frame.
Nikon Z9 400f/4.5S + Teleconverter 2.0x (800mm) 1/1000 sec. f/9.0 (wide open) ISO3200 +0.33EV handheld
Processing... sadly I did not note. I was intending to process this all with Lightroom although the Edit in the name indicates Photoshop. I don't know. Sorry.
I am working toward processing my photos all in Lightroom to simplify my workflow. I have tried the Denoise with AI option on a few photos and have been blown away by the results. I've also enabled Profile Corrections which has a setting for the 400 lens + te2.0 which I was very happy to see.

Thanks for taking a look. Cheers.

 

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Micheal good call going Lr as it dovetails perfectly with Ps and you just save back so you have Raw, DNG and Tiff all together, no hunting for files.

Overall its a bit bright with not much tonal range. Was the image underexposed as it looks a bit grainy, not noisey. The leaf clipping the eye is unfortunate, but the clasped hands, you know whats going on.

I think you would be better to crop in camera rather than using the 2x, as you should have enough pixels to process with.

At around ISO 3200 you need somewhere between 12-16, don't be greedy, otherwise it will bite you back.

TFS
Steve

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Hello again Michael,

A cutie of a squirrel...just maybe 40% too much of a crop?
Subject lacks definition and I agree with Steve, is a bit bright.
Nothing wrong with processing with LR and then final touches in PSCC.
Denoise great in LR, just don't overdo it -ISO 3200 not too much on the Z9, hardly needs any denoise, maybe 15... again, Steve is correct above.
Another thought, maybe a 5x7 crop would work as well, worth a try?

Thank you so much for sharing, I so appreciate it,

Kind regards,
Gabriela

 

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Hi Micheal good call going Lr as it dovetails perfectly with Ps and you just save back so you have Raw, DNG and Tiff all together, no hunting for files.

Overall its a bit bright with not much tonal range. Was the image underexposed as it looks a bit grainy, not noisey. The leaf clipping the eye is unfortunate, but the clasped hands, you know whats going on.

I think you would be better to crop in camera rather than using the 2x, as you should have enough pixels to process with.

At around ISO 3200 you need somewhere between 12-16, don't be greedy, otherwise it will bite you back.

TFS
Steve

Thanks for your comments, Steve. Good idea about the 2x. I'll give it a try. 12-16 Mpixels I'm thinking you mean? For?

Yep underexposed, back lit, overcast. Most of the frame above was white sky. Not quite quick enough with evaluating EV adjustments. Dropping the tc might have made the problem worse.

 

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Hello again Michael,

A cutie of a squirrel...just maybe 40% too much of a crop?
Subject lacks definition and I agree with Steve, is a bit bright.
Nothing wrong with processing with LR and then final touches in PSCC.
Denoise great in LR, just don't overdo it -ISO 3200 not too much on the Z9, hardly needs any denoise, maybe 15... again, Steve is correct above.
Another thought, maybe a 5x7 crop would work as well, worth a try?

Thank you so much for sharing, I so appreciate it,

Kind regards,
Gabriela

Thanks, Gabriela. Most of the crop is cropping a vertical shot to a horizontal presentation. I'm following the squirrel as he climbs along the tree limbs. I had just flipped from horizontal to vertical because I was clipping his long tail. Sigh.
This is a moment later 5x7 crop of vertical (length equals width of vertical). Previous flat image was an artifact of previous workflow (flat curve to be added in post which wasn't). LR pp Tone curve adds contrast to subject.

• NIKON CORPORATION NIKON Z 9
• NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x
• ƒ/9
• 800mm
• 1/1000s
• ISO 3200
• 50.078395
• 14.401176666667
• 228m above sea level
• Fri, 24 May 2024 10:52 PM
• Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 13.5.1 (Windows)

 

[Steve Kaluski]

12-16 Mpixels I'm thinking you mean?

No Micheal, the amount for DeNoise (Enhance).

You might also find changing the Metering Mode useful too. Generally backlit +1 isa good starting pint, blow the sky, expose for the subject.

 

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Michael ... the Reds are always a very cute subject to photograph and this is no exception .
You captured him with a cute pose .
Sadly the image is lacking on the IQ front .. i would expect better output from the high end kit you are using .
Not at fan of the boxy crop ... but this is just personal taste .
Can´t give you any technical suggestions about processing , as i do not have the raw file ... and do not know your WF . So very difficult to get a feeling what causes the issues i am seeing , but i might be well wrong with my observations .

all the best and TFS Andreas

 

[Gabriela Plesea]

Thanks, Gabriela. Most of the crop is cropping a vertical shot to a horizontal presentation. I'm following the squirrel as he climbs along the tree limbs. I had just flipped from horizontal to vertical because I was clipping his long tail. Sigh.
This is a moment later 5x7 crop of vertical (length equals width of vertical). Previous flat image was an artifact of previous workflow (flat curve to be added in post which wasn't). LR pp Tone curve adds contrast to subject.
View attachment 230374

Hello Michael,

And thank you for this, looks better colour wise and a little more detail but subject still 'softer' than expected? ISO, SS and aperture look great so I can only guess it might be the large crop or the use of TC ( or maybe a combination of both ) affecting image quality. Just another thought, have you checked where FP was? And was VR on at the time? If yes, just remember to turn it off when shooting at higher shutter speeds.
Hope to see more from you, I plan to share some more from this last trip as soon as I've finished culling those folders

Kind regards,
Gabriela