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Post by Mark Itol on Apr 23, 2010 19:14:00 GMT
I got this fella last Saturday at the state university with Bong and Gabs, a year and two months after I got my first photo of this colorful bird, also from the same university.  SECURITY CHECK. A Coppersmith Barbet ( Megalaima haemacephala) scans the perimeter after landing on the branch where their nest is located. After making sure no danger is present ( birdnuts on the ground aiming long lenses registered as harmless on the radar ;D), it takes its turn to guard the nest while its partner goes out to forage. Photo taken in UP Diliman, Quezon City, 17 Apr 2010. EOS 40D, EF 400/5.6 L, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, manual exposure, ambient light, 190XB/393 gimbal support, cropped, 6.5 meters subject distance |
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Post by gabriel buluran on Apr 23, 2010 19:42:07 GMT
Congrats on this one Mark! You sure hoarded a lot of details in this capture. I can almost count the red feathers on the Barbet's forehead.
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Post by Ronnie Dominguez on Apr 23, 2010 21:49:56 GMT
excellent capture of a very colorful bird! Ah 6.5 meters!
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Post by Ely Teehankee on Apr 24, 2010 0:47:41 GMT
6.5 meters is really close. Its the perfect distance for a perfect picture. Well done Mark. Mabuhay.
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Post by Romy Ocon on Apr 24, 2010 0:55:32 GMT
Wowowwww..... amazing capture, Mark - a pose to die for, great detail, nice background and good exposure control, big congrats! This is such a great capture that I've to check it out in PS. I hope you don't mind my taking liberty in tweaking the levels a bit to perk up the colors even more. Here's a screen shot of the originally posted photo showing the histogram of the RGB channels. As you can see, there is very little true black considering the small gap in the darker end of the Red channel. We know of course that in reality, there should be some black spots in the photo (black portions of the bird + shadows at the perch).  I simply adjusted the black point to +7 in the levels dialog (all channels adjusted by +7) to remove the gap and increase the areas of true blacks. The effect is very subtle but on my LCD, the colors seem to get even better globally. Of course, you need not always use +7 black point adjustment, as the value depends on individual taste. For this particular case, I'll probably use +8 to +9 for web display, and perhaps +4 to +5 for prints. I normally process lighter for prints (because it is passively lit) and darker for web display (because the monitor is backlit).  BTW, being color-blind, I actually don't see the colors in an accurate sense. What strikes me first in a photo is the absence of true blacks or whites, and such often results into less contrasty colors. |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Apr 24, 2010 2:02:49 GMT
Very nice mark! Mastah, I think my colorblindess is worse  I right click both and the Ctrl + Click "View Image" on firefox.. then switch tabs.. I see no difference   |
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Post by Mark Itol on Apr 24, 2010 2:18:43 GMT
Thank you Gabs, Ronnie, Ely, Ka Mastah, and Edu! I hope you don't mind my taking liberty in tweaking the levels a bit to perk up the colors even more. Not at all, Ka Mastah. It is a privilege to have our photos looked at and critiqued by you. Thank you very much for taking time to check it and for making a detailed explanation. Learned something new. |
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Post by Romy Ocon on Apr 24, 2010 2:34:00 GMT
Very nice mark! Mastah, I think my colorblindess is worse I right click both and the Ctrl + Click "View Image" on firefox.. then switch tabs.. I see no difference The difference is very subtle and tough to see on some monitors, best way to see it is to download the two versions and paste one on top of the other in PS. By making one layer alternately visible and invisible, the slight change can be seen. For me, I just look at the graphs of the RGB channels to see if there are true blacks and whites. ;D |
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Post by Romy Ocon on Apr 24, 2010 3:28:26 GMT
I hope you don't mind my taking liberty in tweaking the levels a bit to perk up the colors even more. Not at all, Ka Mastah. It is a privilege to have our photos looked at and critiqued by you. Thank you very much for taking time to check it and for making a detailed explanation. Learned something new. Glad to hear that, Mark. It just so happened your capture was so amazing, I found it a perfect opportunity to stress the importance of trying to make use of the full range of the histogram in all channels. Such full use will result to achieving true blacks and whites, and consequently contrastier colors globally. This should apply to most birding situations, and the only exception is when the subject and BG are purely R, G or B (ex. - a blue object on a blue BG). |
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Post by Edu Lorenzo Jr on Apr 24, 2010 7:46:30 GMT
I just look at the graphs of the RGB channels to see if there are true blacks and whites. ;D This I gotta learn.. did the download and photoshop thing but hmm.. my monitor is the fault (this is me not admitting) |
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Post by Toto Gamboa on Apr 25, 2010 12:10:50 GMT
Woooow. What an anniversary shot! Perfect shot of a very colorful bird! Well done mark!
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Post by Mark Itol on Apr 26, 2010 12:26:10 GMT
Did the PS thing and yes, the difference is subtle but it makes the photo better color and contrast-wise. Thanks again, Ka Mastah. It really pays to have the per-channel histogram view visible during processing. Thank you too, Toto. |
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Post by Dennis Alfaro on Apr 26, 2010 22:58:52 GMT
great anniversary shot Mark ! how come i can't find this bird at upd  |
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Post by JV Noriega on Apr 27, 2010 15:34:52 GMT
Excellent rendition of this bird Mark! Great details, colors and specially the pose! congratulations on this anniversary shot!
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Post by Mark Itol on Apr 27, 2010 15:36:53 GMT
Thanks, Den and JV.
It's actually easy to find Den, I hope you'll get a chance before they leave the nest.
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