This is the side by side look at the image. The image on the left was processed in 2013 the image on the right was processed in 2024.
In my portfolio of nature images I have many that I can post process much better. This I believe naturally occurs for a couple of reasons. I am now much better at post processing images and the software today is much better than previous versions. Let me elaborate. My processing has gotten better because not only of trial and error and additional training but my eye is much more distinctive. I now look for thing in my images that I didn’t see or bother to fix in the past. I’m not a professional photographer but I like good images. Especially my own. I found this to be true when looking more critically at this bald eagle image that I snapped on November 25, 2013. This image was taken with a Canon Mark IV at 1/1600/F5.6/ISO 1250. I like this image but as I looked at it with a more critical eye, my 2024 eye, I found many imperfections. The original processed image had too much added sharpness. The eagles talons were embarrassingly jacked up. The image out of the camera showed the talons down and in focus. The shadows were too dark. The wing tips, I paid no attention to the area between the feathers. The image I processed in 2013 was over processed and I didn’t pay attention to the little things that actually improve an image. I think I was after improving this image too much rather than appreciating the image for what it was. I also wanted to do quick work on the image. I’m always in a hurry processing images. This a good image but not great. I wished was better and quickly. I’ve since learned that paying attention to all the details in an image is what can really make an image stand out. I’m still a work in progress but I decided to process this image again with today’s eye, skill and software.
The second image is the one I processed yesterday. The differences are subtle but definitely make a big impact on the image as a whole. How’d I do that? I worked slower and paid more attention to details. I have learned to see more than the subject. I learned to better depict what I was witnessing at the time the photo was taken and I looked at the image as it was snapped more often to make sure in my haste I hadn’t jacked up what I was seeing. Less can be more but than doesn’t mean I spent less time post processing the image. This time I painted the bald eagle carefully as a mask using the brush tool then I made my adjustments. The older image I hit select subject in Lightroom and it didn’t get the bird as perfectly outlined leading to the area between the feathers to be compromised as well as the talons. I also backed off the sharpening and added detail to the bird using the detail extractor in Nik. Thinking back I probably spent the same amount of time on each image.
This image is accurate to what I saw that day in 2013. I can put myself in my boat at that moment whenever I want camera in hand. And after all isn’t that a good part of nature photography from the photographers standpoint? The moral of the story is if you have old images that are good but not quite right take a more critical look at them. I know this takes time but if you have it and want to make the most of an image or images apply your current skills, software and discerning eye to work and make that image a better depiction of what you actually saw.