Gerald Kelberg
BPN Member
- SONY ILCE-9M2
- FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS
- ƒ/7.1
- 329mm
- 1/1600s
- ISO 800
- Flash not fired
- Tue, 31 January 2023 5:19 PM
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 12.5 (Macintosh)
Hi Guys,
Here is an image from the same sequence as the previous one of a Marsh Harrier. Now he has moved into position and spread his right wing to hide the "prey" bait for himself - "mantling".
The shot was taken from a hide (behind glass) in central Spain, early in the morning in January this year. The sun was low and the light rich and warm, but the temperature was down at -5C. There were many Harriers and Buzzards competing for the baits as well as an occasional visit from a hungry fox.
I was using my Sony A9 II with the FE 200-600 mm lens at 329mm. Shutter speed was 1/1600 at f7.1 with ISO 800. The shot was taken and is presented at my preferred 16:9 format.
The image was processed in LightRoom. Background softened and toned to taste, and on the subject I opened up some of the darker underwing places. Slight vignette added to the background as well as linear gradients top and bottom. Also remembered to reduce exposure on the legs! (Thanks Jon!). I used Topaz DeNoise which provided some sharpening (This is my typical workflow). Then added sharpening in LR to the tiff file around the head/face before exporting to a jpeg.
Overall, I am much happier with this than my previous image where I was experimenting with some different techniques. But I am used to looking at a 2Mb image that looks really good and find that the 600Kb image is softer. Perhaps there is another stage I need to add to my workflow? That's why I'm here!
I look forward to your feedback and comments.
Gerald