Cave Hill Mallard

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
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IMG_915820190327%20Cave%20Hill%20Mallard
IMG_915820190327%20Cave%20Hill%20Mallard1500×1072 255 KB

Canon T2i
100-400mm Canon lens

Someone suggested that I try shooting raw again, this is my attempt. Used Canon’s RAW file editor.

Thanks for looking, appreciate your suggestions!

Jim
Louisville

You may only download this image to demonstrate post-processing techniques.
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I have never seen Mallard with this plumage before. The head is definitely a mallard though. Some sort of hybrid? The light is rather harsh on this shot, Jim, but sometimes that’s what you have. You mention about shooting this one in RAW. Have you considered lifting up the shadow a little more? I will definitely clone out that black triangle on the upper right corner.

1 Like
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Thank you for your critique Adhika…I was beginning to think I was on some kind of black list! LOL

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Definitely not on my black list, Jim :smile: I am still catching up with the interface, etc. Hopefully I will get the hang of it soon.

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Nice pose you captured here Jim. You could crop out the black in the upper right easily enough. There are some shadows, try to photograph dark species like this in light that isn’t so bright too avoid the shadows.

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Thank you very much Nate for critiquing and for the advice. I appreciate any and all suggestions or comments, the more I post the more I learn I have a lot to learn. LOL

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Nice job on this one, Jim. I definitely see the difference between the image quality of this and the ones you were saving as JPG in camera. Since you were shooting in raw, you should be able to bring the shadows up a bit more, though they don’t bother me too much. I like the looks of this bird. I posted another weird one from my trip to Portland. Mallards are known to breed with just about anything, particularly the ones that become permanent residents. It makes for some really cool looking birds.

I agree with Nate’s suggestion to take a bit off the right to get rid of whatever’s sticking into the upper right corner.

Cave Hill looks like an interesting place to shoot. Is it accessible in early morning or late evening when the light is nice and mellow?

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I just checked Dennis Cave Hill Cemetery opens at 8 a.m. in the morning and closes at 4:45 p.m. in the afternoon. Though I remember last winter they asked me to leave at 4 p.m. . But it is a great place and it’s pretty centrally located in Louisville.