Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

[Dann Thombs]

<span style="font-style: italic;"]Canon EOS 40D, EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, 1/250, f/2.8, ISO 1600, -2/3EV


I had originally processedthis photoquickly along with some other photos, but I didn't like the end result, so I decided to dedicate the hour in post-processing to make it a decent photo. Another case of salvaging ISO 1600.

The edited version consists of three layers. All of the same image with masks.
The background with denoise set to 2/10 and same with color noise. Detail and sharpening set to 0.
Above that is a layer with 10/10 denoise and same for color noise.
Above that gaussian blur set to 5px (for a very smooth background)
A final curves adjustment layer set on top so I could adjust it without it being permanent.

I masked the second layer as 'reveal all' and painted in the background layer so the detail would come back. Adding and subtracting let me be choosy with the detail vs noise that remained.

The third layer was set to masked as 'hide all' and using a large feathered brush I painted just portions of the background back in. This gave a very smooth backdrop.

I applied an unsharp mask to the bottom layer to give some extra contrast to the details. This required some additional masking play to hide some more noise that poked through.

Then adjusted the curves layer to bring out some general contrast.

[Colin]

I see neither a mouse nor a tit []


Still, like the photo []

[Sean Setters]

You know, after seeing the title of this thread, I decided not to view it while sitting at my desk at work. Just wasn't sure. :-)

[Jon Ruyle]

Very nice, IMO.


I like the subtle angle of the wire and the color coordination. I also like the slight variaiton in the brightness in the background. It is almost too boring, but the things that look like big defocused points of light save it.


Oh, yeah. And the bird itself is pretty good, too


Thanks also for your detailed description of the processing.


Is the picture cropped?

[Tim]

This is one of my favorite birds, nice capture!

[Dann Thombs]

Haha, yeah the common bird names do have a lot of risqu&eacute; names if taken out of context.


Thanks for the comments. I'd have actually liked a cleaner background, but it's nice to know the slight variation is seen as a positive. The picture is cropped slightly, but not by much. Maybe 90% or some, just to tighten it up a bit. I'm usually against cropped, but in this case, I felt it benefitted.