Wattled Jacana from Harold Stiver on Vimeo.
There are eight species of the Jacana family of birds. They have huge webbed feet which distributes their weight and allows them to walk on lily pads.
The family is widespread in most areas of the southern hemisphere. The Wattled Jacana ranges throughout South America and into Panama.
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Before
Adobe always manages to get me to upgrade to their latest version. Often I need to when I get a new Camera body and discover my version of Photoshop doesn’t recognize the RAW files. However I often find they have a great new feature. The great new feature to upgrade to Photoshop CS4 is Content-Aware Scaling. Here’s how it works.
In the above image, I liked the winter atmosphere of this Mallard pair swimming in a snowstorm but I felt they were a bit lost in it. In particular I wished they were closer together.
With the new Content-Aware feature, this is no problem. As always, it is suggested that you work with a copy of your file and work in a layer.
Hitting Edit>Content-Aware Scale brings up a selection, and as usual, grabbing and moving the edge boxes with your mouse, changes the selection.
After clicking on the selection to finalize the change, we notice that the size and proportions of the two Mallards is still the same. Photoshop has “recognized” that they were the important elements in the image and preserved then, while reducing the rest of the image.
The final step is to use the Image>Trim Command (Make sure “Transparent Pixels” is checked).
Incidentally, this new feature is also useful at increasing areas in the image.
After
In a straight forward situation like this, Photoshop has done a great job in deciding what can and cannot be changed. However, if there is any confusion, we have additional commands to fine tune the process. If we make a selection, and save it, we will have the option of protecting that selection when we open the Content-Aware Scale command. There are also other useful options like Protecting Skin Tones so you won’t squish your kids.
This tutorial is a part of the Photoshop Workflow Series
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Sintra, Portugal
Sintra is a town north of Lisbon, which contains a number of beautiful historic buildings including the summer residence of the Kings of Portugal called the Palacio National, and the Pena Palace.
It is very attractive to tourists and has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Cabo da roca, Portugal
Cabo da Roca is the westernmost point of both Portugal and Europe. It is a wild scenic spot with a picturesque lighthouse which was completed in 1772. It is about an hours drive from Lisbon.
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Juvenile Common Goldeneye
In eastern North America Barrow’s Goldeneye is rare while the Common Goldeneye is…well common.
In a poor viewing situation, and a bit of wishful thinking, the above bird might be mistaken for a Barrow’s,with the white facial marking resembling the typical Barrow’s crescent. It is, however, less defined in shape, and the lower parts are different.
Below is an actual Barrow’s Goldeneye for comparison
Barrow's Goldeneye Adult male
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Red-breasted Merganser Diving
I was photographing Red-breasted Mergansers recently and decided I would try to get an image of one diving. I cannot give you a good reason for wanting to do such an odd thing but it gave me two quick results
However, after watching them for a few hours, I realized that they often had a “tell”, something that would let me know they were going to dive. Not always, but occasionally they would tense or hunch a bit, before they dived. Most of my attempts were still unsuccessful, but I was able to get a few images. And here they are.
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fractal trip to e64 from teamfresh on Vimeo.
Have a look at this amazing work by Teamfresh. It will take you back to your misspent youth. Make sure you have the sound on.
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Winter Ducks from Harold Stiver on Vimeo.
Cold weather has iced in these winter ducks to a small area where a feeding frenzy takes place.
They include Long-tailed Duck, Redhead, Greater Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Mallard, Red-breasted Merganser, Bufflehead and White-winged Scoter
Taken with a Canon 5D2 and 500mm lens
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Greater Scaup female-plumage variance
In their website citation for Greater Scaup, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology say:
“Occasionally an older female Greater Scaup will have male-like head color and male patterning on her back, but she still has the typical white face patch of a female.”
In the image above, the female has the typical white at the base of the bill, but she has acquired a dark green head and finely barred back like the male.
The image below shows the more typical female in front and behind a bird that might seem intermediate.
Greater Scaup female-plumage variance
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Long-eared Owl from Harold Stiver on Vimeo.
The Long-eared Owl is one of the most colorful of the North American Owls, with gorgeous warm tones. The ears, which are actually feather tufts, often give it a surprised expression.
At Amherst Island, it usually roosts in groups in the upper part of pines and cedars.
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