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I spent the last 3 days updating my website and while doing so I revisited two old pics I have always loved but which had always had drastic flaws. In the past I had spent hours on post processing without the results I was really looking for.

Both of these pics are from a few years back. At that time I thought both had very good potential but both were taken under extreme circumstances and both needed a lot of work. I`ve tried several incarnations of these and this is the latest. Thoughts and opinons would be awesome if anyone has em.

Took this one of 2 eagles in Haida Gwaii. It was evening with a very high cloud cover and the sun beginning to decend behind the eagles. White sky was unavoidable, I managed to freeze the scene pretty well with just a slight blur at the wing tips so no real issues there. I thought the pic had potential but it was really drab in its original form.

What I love about the pic is the composition. The seated eagle looking at the one landing and the one landing with wings both fully spread as well as the tail. I also really love the raggedness of the feathers, due to a rain which just stopped about 10 minutes prior, with the many breaks especially in the tail feathers. What I tried to bring across was a raw starkness which is exactly how I envisioned the scene that evening. lemme know your thoughts... I`m at the love/hate point.



This next one was taken underwater. I had a small pocket digital with me which I put into a ziplock bag, stretched the pastic tight over the lens and used a rubber band to secure its place over the lens... hey.. it worked Anyways; the original pic had an extreme amount of noise as well as a ton of reflected light off of microscopic sea creatures, all out of focus, so it was a real mess.

What I tried to do here is clear it up and present it in a more sterile environment. One thing to keep in mind is the light on the creature is completely natural... I didnt change anything there as a matter of fact I toned it down a bit to bring out more of the detail. The question is did I go too far... is it too clean looking.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Well in my personal opinion, I liked the composition of the first shot and also the fact that it's black and white makes the shot more interesting, well obviously I haven't seen the original in color (if it even was that way) so I'm just speculating.
The second shot is really awesome, I don't think you went too far, many underwater shots I've seen are very clean looking so IMHO this is very nice.
Good job on both shots

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

Thank you Pierovera,

The first shot isn't black and white although I did try it. The changes were so subtle it really didn't matter. It was a really bad light that evening... all I was trying to do was make the pic "pop" a bit more. The original just had everything phasing into everything else due to light, evening haze after a rain, distance... everything that evening looked to the eye to be in greyscale.

The second one I'm starting to agree with you... it will probably make it to my site as it is now.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

Ok, so I like the first shot a lot more than the second one, even with the plain background. The composition is just awesome. I love how the eagle on the left is watching his friend land on the branch next to him, and the grey-scale color gives it almost a vintage, rugged look, which I think compliments the subject very nicely.

It's not that I don't like the second shot, it's still really great. The processing seems fine to me...I don't think it looks too clean. It's a pretty cool subject, I just personally enjoy the first shot more. By the way, where did you take this one, and what the hell is that thing?? It looks like a little alien!

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Canon EOS 600D
Canon EFS 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6, EFS 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Thanks AdamP

Its a type of a sea slug that is all I know for sure. Found it in about 15 feet of water on the edge of a kelp bed in Haida Gwaii.

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Canon 7D + 50D + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM + EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Pelican // Black Rapid // Think Tank // Manfrotto // Garmin

Reflections On Canadian Wildlife
My Flickr

I agree with AdamP.

I don't dislike the sea slug at all but the first one is really striking - definitely one of my favourite shots I've seen here.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Wow..
Great photos..
I like it..