Red Kite in flight.

[Jeremy]

I posted this photo in the gallery a couple of weeks ago; this has just had Neat image applied to it to remove some of the grain in the sky. Taken a few weeks back from one of the public hides at Gigrin Farm in Rhayader, mid Wales.
Canon EOS 33, Sigma 500mm lens, Kodak HD 200 Print film.
Some blemishes/scratches which were on the original negative have been cloned out; otherwise this is the `raw` photograph, virtually uncropped.

[paula]

Jerremy, last night I did see and commented on your Kite in the gallery. I even copied it and had a little play with it in PS to remove the grain but I think Neat Image has done a better job.
In the blue channel I applied 75 causian blurr and than selected the bird, inverted, and despeckled the sky. Than just gave the selected bird some USM, which might have been overdone!
What do you think?
Nice picture though, I am now finding out how difficult it is to take photos of birds in flight!
My Rating: 3 stars

[Jeremy]

Paula, thanks for taking the trouble to re-post. I think, on the whole, it is an improvement on the original. Your Photoshop skills are obviously better than mine! Sitting in front of a computer is just not my cup of tea - I`d rather be out in the wilds! Thanks again for commenting.

[IanF]

Hi Jeremy,

I really do like this shot, subject wise, technically for the sharpness and detail and for the composition.

Compositionally, I can't really add anything as it looks pretty good as it stands.

Sharpness wise you have got the focus spot on at the time of taking and in addition have freeze-framed it mid-dive very nicely.

I must admit that I like parts of both yours and Paulas versions. The thing I don't like about Paula's adjustment is the effect of the processing on the back of the bird, sharpening them too much, highlighting the feather outlines far more than is natural looking. On the other hand it clarifies the bird better against the sky. I think that a few more tiny adjustments of settings could make this an even better shot.

I'd give it 4 stars, though it's not far off the fifth one too !