Shot this morning at a Piling at the Ferry Landing on the North Side of the James River. The shots were from the upper observation deck. When the egg hatches, I ride that ferry all day like "Boston Charlie." What do you think?

[Frogfish]

These are great shots ! But I think they could benefit from some PP (just literally 1 minute).

[cupic]

Lovely parenting on display and crisp clear shots TFs


cheers

[cdurfor]

As a PP neophyte, I would appreciate any guidance on improving IQ.

Many, many thnx

C. Durfor

P.S. Here is one more interesting image from the same nest. While not as sharp (blaming the rolling ferry), it shows an Osprey attempting to deal with the > 100F heat on the preceding afternoon. Unusual wing position.

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Last edited by cdurfor; 06-27-2010 at 04:43 AM. Reason: Add one more photo

[ivoire]

Nice job! I like these a lot. Great way to spend the day. The color of the birds is very natural. Post processing is a personal preference. You could try a bit of sharpening, contrast and saturation and see if you like the effect.

[VaughnA]

Wow! Nice captures! I love raptors and those ospreys are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them.

[OJGoreng]

P.S. Here is one more interesting image from the same nest. While not as sharp (blaming the rolling ferry), it shows an Osprey attempting to deal with the > 100F heat on the preceding afternoon. Unusual wing position.

The pics are fantastic! One thing I'm wondering though... did you shoot that last one on the same day? The last one shows a bird in adult plumage (more even brown; also look at the eye colour, much lighter iris than the other ones), while the two in your first picture are young ones. I don't know if there are timing differences between the nesting seasons of the various world populations, but my guess says that egg won't hatch, and the two birds on the nest are its siblings rather than its parents.

[cdurfor]

Wow.. That is great information! The fuzzier image was shot on Friday afternoon around 4:00PM. The sharper images were shot the following morning around 9:00AM. So you are suggesting they are different birds? Fascinating...

[OJGoreng]

Yes. I think these young are almost good to go (the ones in Europe are; migration starts in August). The parents will be on the hunt all the time at the moment, which is why you may see them on the nest less frequently.

The difference between the young and adult is easiest to spot if you look at the back feathers. Adults have a pretty homogeneously coloured brown coat, the young have yellow margins on the feathers. Also, therey're generally a tad more brownish on the belly side, while the adults are more pure white.

You're lucky to have them so close... it only passes through this country during migration; I've only seen it here twice. Once from my balcony though, that was a bonus .

Best I have been able to do so far is this, from analog times, shot with a horrible mirror tele. I'm not even posting the picture, a link should suffice. Trust me .

[Frogfish]

cdurfor. The PP I did on your shot in one minute was :

1. Curves : click Auto (LR3, A3, BP5, PS all have it. Elements I'm not sure. What do you use) ?
2. Reduced exposure just a touch
3. Increased Black Point a touch
4. Increased Definition a touch
5. Increased Vibrancy a touch
6. Applied selective sharpening to the Osprey's and the egg with the local brush.
Done - just one minute.

2 to 5 are just preference however Auto Curves recovers so much and a little selective sharpening makes a big difference too.

[cdurfor]

Many thanks for your PP guidance. I've been using Elements for the last year and still think I'm finding new things every day.... I'll try and figure out items 1, 3, 4, and 6 on elements.

Once again many thanks!

[dcmsox2004]

super nature series !! really enjoyed mom and dad... along with eggbert...... dave m