Sunset Banding....

[Arthur Morris]

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

I created this image with the Canon 800mm and the EOS-1D Mark IV. ISO 400. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +1 stop: 1/8000 sec. at f/8.

This is the full frame original capture with about a 70% Multipy.

Obviously with the +1 EC I was set up for silhouettes in the orange sky.... -3 EC would have resulted in a much better original though the sun would still almost surely have been over-exposed.

Don't be shy; all comments are welcome.

ps: any ideas on how to reduce the banding in post? I sort of like the heavy banding abstract look for this version but realize that there might be another possible version.

 

[Matt Shetzer]

Arthur,
I love the reds in this image. I find the sun is a bit too overpowering, perhaps a larger crop might reduce the effect.

Great capture on the wings. I really like the detail in the tips.

Matt

 

[Dumay de Boulle]

I like the idea...Colors look great and the banding doesn't bug me...I find the sun a bit too large in the frame!

 

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is an interesting one. I love the effect on the sun - looks like solar flares going off. The deep reds are fantastic, but what I love best is the partial highlighted contour under the eagle. I like the bottom black band, but undecided on the top one. I do wish the eagle and the sun weren't so close together though.

 

[Stu Bowie]

Hey Artie, what I see right away in this, is how the underside of the eagles right wing follows the curvature of the sun. Just love the striking reds in the overall image, but not too keen on the black bands top and bottom. I do however like the silhouette of the eagle, especially the raised primaries.

 

[Pieter de Waal]

Well captured and framed at FF Arthur. Love the colours, the sharp silhouette and the curled primaries.

 

[DanWalters]

Great color and very dramatic. I find the sun a little distracting, however.

 

[Alan Lillich]

I like the red posterization too. The yellow rim on the left side of the bird is a big plus. The thin black lines along the bottom and upper right really complement the bird, balancing the composition. Amazing (but not surprising) that you framed it so well in camera. I hope you weren't looking at the sun too long to get this set up and timed!

 

[Desmond Chan]

Arthur,
I love the reds in this image. I find the sun is a bit too overpowering

Agree about the sun. Personally I find that a bright subject situated very close to the main subject is distraction of the utmost :S3: because every time the viewer wants to focus on the bird, there is no way the eye cannot also be seeing the bright sun in the background and keep being drawn to it (as bright and contrasty subject attract the eyes more).

Wait, would the sun actually be the main subject in this photo? :S3:

The red looks great !

 

[Arthur Morris]

I like the red posterization too. The yellow rim on the left side of the bird is a big plus. The thin black lines along the bottom and upper right really complement the bird, balancing the composition. Amazing (but not surprising) that you framed it so well in camera. I hope you weren't looking at the sun too long to get this set up and timed!

As the image in frame would get brighter, I instructed the folks to frame and fire and I did the same. Rarely I would see the sun coming into the frame; When that happened I would "duck" (take my eye from the viewfinder) and fire off one or two more frames. So the perfect framing here was partially the result of luck.

 

[Arthur Morris]

If I had not been so frozen, shivering and excited I might have seen this image on the laptop and then created a properly exposed sun to drop in.... It would like have had to have been 10-20 stops darker.... For more on the afternoon that this image was created and a few more pics check out today's blog post: Insanity, Exhilaration, Exhaustion, & Home

 

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Arthur, love this one. Wish it were mine! I love the reds and yellows the way they are and really like the extra large sun. Nicely captured with that touch of luck you mention :S3: