A few people have asked how I made that dark, gloomy crow image, so here's a step-by-step for those who are interested. Note that this was a flyby shot, at a full 400mm, of a crow briefly visiting a tree by my driveway. I got two exposures only, then he was gone. They don't like having me around with a "gun", which is what the 400 looks like :-) I went out in the first place 'cuz there were like 100 of these things flocking and wheeling in that tree, so I grabbed the 5D, mounted the gun, and stepped out the front door.
Ill-advisedly, as it happens, since the whole freaking flock decamped instantly, except this one danged bird who was giving me the beady eye: then he left too.
So I had to deal with a fairly extreme crop, and an underexposed image to boot...
Congrats on your Blue ribbon. That is a very good extraction of the essence of the scene, with much attention paid to important details and good crop. The color temp change allowed just the right mood.
Wow! I loved your entry but to be honest if I had taken that shot I would have deleted it because I know there's no way I could ever process it that well.
Wow! I loved your entry but to be honest if I had taken that shot I would have deleted it...
I nearly did, but I was using the magnifier in Bridge to see how sharp it was (new lens, don'tcha know?) and I realized that crow was casting a baleful glare my way, so I said to myself "You can do something with this!"
This is why it is great when people post originals on the site. Thanks a lot, shows how much I need to experiment with photoshop etc. Amazing what you can do with an original like that.
Wow! I loved your entry but to be honest if I had taken that shot I would have deleted it because I know there's no way I could ever process it that well.
I thought the same thing. I never would have saved that shot. Trash can.
Who says my image was manipulated? That was pretty much straight out of the camera. I think :)
I quote your note in the Photographer's Notes box:
"Having fun with PS."
What's a bear s'posed to think? (And I'm just having fun too...)
More seriously: Although there were a lot of steps involved in making the image useful, I don't consider it to be particularly "photoshopped": the end result is reasonably close to what was shot. Seriously. I have a TON of images that are WAY more 'shopped than that :-)
I know. Mine was shopped pretty good. I was trying to spark a debate on PS and Photography. I personally dont care how much PS goes into an image as long as it looks good.
Thank you very much Robert for all the info.
I was stunned by your photo, even independently of the challenge, although it was perfection for Hitchcock.
What is ACR? (Ignorance here) I have photoshop CS4 and love it.
Wow! Thank you so much for the work you put into sharing that info with the rest of us. If I recall correctly you used to be a teacher, and that is obviously part of your nature, lucky for us.
