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View Full Version : Cattle Egret at Pallikaranai marsh



Rajan Kanagasabai
29-01-2009, 11:55 AM
This was a shot as part of the Bird Race 09 at Chennai last Sunday

F10, 1/500. 200 ISO, Canon EF 100 - 400, 40D

(have to figure out a way of getting rid of the dust on my sensor - spots over and under the beak!)

Rajan

Sabyasachi Patra
29-01-2009, 01:59 PM
The image is highly saturated. You can see from the deep blue background. You need to relook your post processing. The whites are blown around the neck. Similarly you have blacks with no details. I did a few corrections just to show the way to go as it is difficult to work on a small image.

To the existing images you need to use the clone tool to remove the dust spots. Use the clone tool after magnifying your image to 100% or 200%. I did clone a spot or two in your image to demonstrate. You can clean the sensor by using a blow brush, as described in the manual. If the dust doesnt go, then you may need to use a sensor clean. I use Arctic butterfly to clean the sensor.

Rajan Kanagasabai
29-01-2009, 02:28 PM
Thanks Sabyasachi

I was playing around with my new Picasa (licensed copy) and probably did something to saturate this. The original (12 MB) has a lesser blue background.

Otherwise, i normally use the Corel suite. Do you think it is a good enought tool or should i look at something else ?

I did try the blow brush a couple of times, but the specs don't seem to go. I am too scared to fiddle around with the sensor and was planning to take it over to Canon, when Sudir on the INW forum advised me that there are just a few now and may not need a visit to Canon until the Spots become an irritant. So, i was wondering if there was any other way to get rid of them . . .

Rajan

Sabyasachi Patra
29-01-2009, 02:46 PM
Rajan,
Do you shoot in Raw or jpeg?

I have not checked the recent version of Picassa. I shoot in Raw and use Lightroom to edit my images. I don't do digital alterations except colour, contrast, and tone curves. You can use photoshop elements or photoshop CS 2/3 or 4 as well.

When you are trying to blow it, keep the camera face down and blow from below. Check the location of the spots and then try to blow approximately in that direction. Canon will charge you about 1800 rupees.

Do you frequently change lenses? When you are changing lenses, switch off the camera. Try switching lenses as fast as possible.