Buena Vista Grasslands Prairie Chickens (Wisconsin)

[Spearing Machine]

Its been a while since I have got some shots on the canon and last week I attempted but failed. We sat in the Prairie Chicken blind on the Buena Vista Grasslands south of Stevens Point, WI last Thursday where one of the only small populations remain in the state. But, the few birds that appeared on the lek (5 males and 2 females) were very shy and not willing to get closer than 40 yards or so from the blind. So I headed back out with a couple of classmates again this morning at 0500. We weren't expecting pea soup thick fog but as soon as the sun peaked over the horizon it quickly disappeared and the chickens moved in. We ended the morning when all of the females left the lek and we had counted 10 females and 6 males for most of the morning. They were quiet active with numerous fights, lots of booming, but no copulations. I have just a couple hundred photos and relatively pleased with some of the results. I am trying to tech myself Photoshop after 3 years of photography so if some of the colors from each photo aren't perfect that's why. C and C welcome. Thanks guys!

[Getanet]

I'm no photographer, but those are some awesome pictures of a very cool looking bird.

[finnbay]

Great work, Jeremy! That's a species I've never had the chance to see. Very well done!

[Dbl]

How cool is that to witness!

[dockothebay]

Sweet shots Jeremy. And I hear ya on learning Photoshop!

[Dbl]

I see you mentioned C&C as well. If I might offer an observation. I noticed a fair amount of haloing around the birds. That can be caused by many things, over-sharpening, dodging or shadow lightening. These shots were all back-lighted making things very difficult for you. Something to consider when you set your blind, its nice to have that sun at your back so your subject is nicely lit. Of course that always is not possible and may not have been for you.

It appears that you tried to lighten the bird by dodging or shadow recovery? You have to go easy to not make the subject appear in an unnatural "light". Photoshop is a very powerful tool that takes some time to master, but you are well on your way. I hoped I provide you with some useful C&C.

[Spearing Machine]

Thanks all for the comments, sure was a fun morning!!

Thanks for the c&c, Dan! That is exactly what I am looking for. As you probably know if you've shot leking birds before from a blind they are placed in a location and you take what you can get. This particular morning the others I was with aren't much for photography folks but they mentioned that it sure would have been nice to have been on the east side of the lek vs the north side. Aside from that, my photo shop skills are definitely a work in progress and I actually just used the guided edit in PSE7 and everything is just sliders to sharpen, lighten and darken exposure, and brightness and contrast. I will keep reading my Kelby book and hope to be slowly getting better.

[Dbl]

Yes I do understand the blind locations, sometimes you are stuck with well...what you are stuck with. Be careful with sliders they can make things look processed. Any of the Kelby books will help you tremendously, he typically recommends non-destructive editing usually by employing layers. The goal is to achieve the results you want by not making it look processed. It takes time but keep at it, you have a great start!

[Swimmer]

I like the fourth from last...Ninja Prairie Chicken. I hear you about Photoshop x2.