My First Post

[Nicole]

No problem And the link works perfectly.

I do like the detail that you've brought back in the feathers. I actually think it looks less flat now that you've brought that detail back. Nicely done

[NikonnooB]

Oh, yeah! RAW's been saving my.... er..... you know... since I started with it (back last July). I feel rather like I'm cheating, but then I remember that in the film world, one could tell the lab to process a roll for overexposure and underexposure, so I don't feel that bad. AND, it's so much better with digital, 'cause the pre-processing can be done for each image, individually. I do envy the people who're getting the perfect shot right out of the gate, though.

I do agree - the birds feathers are way better than my first run at this. I loved the original contrast, but it doesn't justify the loss of detail. BUT, I do think I miss my vignette... (a good thing, too, since with that 55-200VR, I'm going to have to live with it).

Thank you, so much for your insights into this - I've been learning so much!

You know, I actually almost always DO use spot metering (even though, I think I should break that habit). I'm surprised it doesn't show up in the exif data from SmugMug, but I checked my file in bridge, and this was shot with spot metering. I tend to use it from my old days with my Nikon FG. I got used to pressing the button, and recomposing. I'm not certain why the original of this shot was so flat and slightly underexposed, as I used aperture priority mode (didn't think fast enough to switch to shutter priority, which I think would've made more sense for this kind of image). I'm glad it was a little flat, actually, 'cause it gave me the latitude to play in raw.

[NikonnooB]

Nicole - you posted, while I was composing the above.

Your posting information worked perfectly, and I got really lucky with being able to follow it. I'm keeping it handy for my cut/pastes for all my future stuff (now my desktop's a mess!)

Thank you for the input on this. I'm glad you agree about the feathers and the new one. This whole process really changed the way I've been looking at things...