Newsletter BirdLife Southern Queensland

Photography

Volume 4 Number 5 March 2014

Editorial Group: Newsletter Editors – Richard Slaughter/Di Oliver Email: rslaughter@ozemail.com.au dioliver@optusnet.com.au

Welcome – Richard Slaughter

Using Layers – David Jenkins

A favourite bird spot – Paul Jensen

Queensland Ornithological Conference: The State of

Australia’s Birds

Welcome to the March 2014 Newsletter

A great deal has happened in the Australian environment since Di and I were working on the post-Ingham

November newsletter. But, apart from a brief hot spell in January, SE Queensland seems to have got off pretty

lightly for the time being. There are, however, much larger forces at work in the wider world, some of which

will no doubt feature during the forthcoming Queensland Ornithological Conference on the State of

Australia’s Birds. You should find a separate flyer on this attached with this newsletter. If you do decide to go

please make yourself known as I intend to be there.

This month we’re pleased to offer the second part of David Jenkins excellent primer on the use of Photoshop

Layers. Even though I’ve been using layers for a while there’s a lot to learn and I still find them challenging. So

I’m looking forward to trying out some of David’s suggestions. I hope you’ll do the same. For those interested,

it’s relevant to add that you don’t need to go straight to the main Photoshop processer for all your imaging

work. I learned recently that great deal can be achieved with JPEGs, TIFFs and, of course, RAW files by opening

the processor in Bridge. Working this way produces smaller files. These can then be further processed in

Photoshop if necessary.

We also have an interesting piece by Paul Jenson on the Parklakes Wetland close to where he lives. Paul’s

overview of this location is complemented by some first class images. His comments on the use of a Sigma

150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM lens may be of interest to those thinking of investing in one. It’s a good deal

cheaper than the premium brands but, as you can see, capable of excellent results. This suggests that quality

in bird photography resides not only in the equipment used but also in the knowledge and craft skills of the

photographer.

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A few people have kindly sent images and other items in to Di. We would ask you to please keep these

coming. One thing to remember, however, is that we need images to be reduced in size and sent separately

from the text.

Richard Slaughter and Di Oliver.

Photoshop Layers: A primer, Part 2 – David Jenkins

As Adobe moves Photoshop from a stand-alone item to a program that is going to be internet-based, some of

the techniques that we’ve used since the dawn of Photoshop are going to find themselves online. Now, this is

not a place to discuss the relative pros and cons of working from such a program; however, it’s worth noting

that the majority of the real “photographic” uses are finding their way into the likes of Lightroom (LR) . This

means that some of the ‘round tripping’ of the past, with an image making a trip out of and back into

Photoshop are going to go the way of wooden wagon wheels.

Much of what I’ve tutored in the past sessions is now so much easier within the LR application. As a

photographer, I wonder how Photoshop in the cloud is going to work for us. It’s early days yet. Time will tell.

Last time we looked at some of the very basic functions within the Layers Palette, and now we’ll continue. I

must also point out that some of the features in the Palette have changed or been reassigned in the latest

versions of Photoshop, so it’s hard to be all things to all users. So let’s get started:

One of the great steps forward for Photoshop layers came back in about Photoshop 6. It became possible to

put layers into a folder in the Layer Palette. So all the text layers could be grouped together, or all the

lighten/darken layers could be together, and the colour correction layers could be separated from all the rest.

1. It’s easy to do. Click on

the Folder Icon at the

bottom of the Layer

palette. The New Layer

Set Folder’s Group

Properties dialogue box

will appear. Give the layer

set folder a name, and

then simply drag the layers

you want to group

together onto the Folder icon to add them in.

2. You can colour code

both layers and

layer folders. In the

New Layer Set

Folder box, check

the colour you’d like

to use.

3. To add a colour to a

Layer, either double click

on the layer, or

Alt/Option double click

on the Layer Name to get

to the Layer Properties

box.

4. Layer Sets can be

closed to conserve

space. To close, click

on the little downward

pointing Delta (the

little downward

pointing arrow) next to

the Layer Set name.

To expand it, click on the Delta again.

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5. One really cool thing about a set is it has an

opacity slider available. Moving this will

cause the effects of all the layers inside the

Set to be reduced by the amount set.

Personally I’ve never seen the need to do this,

as I like to have individual control over each

layers effect. But, isn’t it cool you can do it?

At the bottom of the Layers palette are a set

of icons, some of which we’ve already worked

with, but here they are in detail. From right to

left:

6. The first is a little “f”

It is the pop-up menu

for the Layer Effects. It

really is for the graphic

arts folk, as adding a

bevelled edge (for

example) to a photo of

a Brown-headed

Honeyeater doesn’t

seem all that useful!

7. The next is the Layer Mask icon. In a nutshell, this makes certain pixels in the layer transparent. Again, it’s

mostly a graphic arts tool. BUT Put a photo on each of two layers, then assign a mask to the top layer, and

you can let through parts of the underlying image. It’s a bit like erasing the top layer, but it’s not destructive,

as it does not remove pixel data; it simply allows through the lower layer values. Think “putting someone’s

head inside a daffodil”.

8. The next one is the black/white circle – often called the yin and yang symbol. This gives direct access to the

Content Layers. Here is where the fill, colour fill, tonal corrections and other really useful items can be found.

In previous tutorials we’ve looked at a number of these, and rather than plod through them here, I’ll leave

that for Part 3.

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The huge advantage of Content Layers is they are a permanent part of the image set, and when you save an

image you save that content layer. Then, in say, a couple of months, you can open the image up again and

make changes to the Layer, without affecting any other work you’ve done. Unlike in History, which is lost

when the image is closed.

The other big advantage of Content Layers is the control you can have by painting onto the layer to allow the

effect (paint White) or hold back the effect (paint Black); or you can paint grey values to allow a little or a lot

of the effect. If you’ve followed any of the previous tutes, you’ll know this to be one of my favourite ways of

working.

9. The next icon (at the bottom of the Layers palette) is the Layers Sets icon. See points 1,2, & 3 (earlier) for

details.

10. The next icon is the New Layer icon. Pretty simple! Click on it to create a new Layer that you want to

work on.

11. The Trash Can icon is an obvious one, and it’s where Layers that are no longer needed should be sent.

Either highlight a Layer and press Delete, or - much more fun - click on the layer, hold and drag to the Trash

Can. If you decide you didn’t mean to do that, then Control/Command-Z will bring it back. Otherwise, it’s

gone!

By now layers should no longer hold the ‘mystery’ that seems to be built up around them. And next time we'll

have a good look at Content Layer and Modes to see how they are some of the best photo enhancing tools

Photoshop has to offer. For those in Lightroom, the good news they are now pretty much all built right into

the Develop or Adjustments modules.

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Parklakes Wetland, Bli Bli - Paul Jensen

The wetlands were built in 2011 at a cost of $2.8 million and are in Bli Bli – Yandina Road, Bli Bli.

There is a large carpark and it is only a short walk across the playing fields to the wetlands.

The Stormwater Treatment Facility at Parklakes Estate is designed to provide treatment to stormwater runoff

from the 82 ha estate, as well as adjacent upstream catchments. The facility consists of an inlet basin which

collects runoff from the estate and discharges the design flow into a wetland. The wetland will then discharge

into the receiving environment, an urban lake. The inlet basin and wetland also serve as part of a lake re-

circulation system. The stormwater treatment facility and lake also act as a means to achieve pre-

development flow, detaining the increased runoff associated with urban development and lessening flooding

stress on downstream environments. This system has been designed using best practice principles and aims to

ensure long-term lake health and to provide a valuable asset to the Parklakes community and the greater

Sunshine Coast.

I first started visiting the wetlands in December after I saw a post by Greg Roberts advising of the Australian

Little Bitten and Baillon’s and Spotless Crakes being present.

https://plus.google.com/105299422043233685629/posts

The Australian Little Bitten is

very secretive and a close photo

is almost impossible to get. It is

usually seen in the second pond

which has rushes across the

middle and some on each side.

The photo was heavily cropped

and sharpened to get an

acceptable identification photo.

There is a male and a female and

some mornings they are very

active flying between rushes.

Australian Little Bitten – 1/800sec, f/8, ISO 2000, 500mm hand held

I have only seen one Spotless Crake at a time

so I don’t know if there are more than one

present but I saw it today as I write this at the

end of February. Ballion’s Crake are more

plentiful with more than six being seen at one

time. Both are easily photographed at close

range.

Spotless Crake – 1/800sec, f/6.3, ISO 360,

500mm

Baillon’s Crake – 1/800, f/8, ISO 2200, 500mm.

For several weeks there were three Painted Snipe in

the back second pond in a small muddy area

between the rushes and the grass area. They were

hard to photograph as they spent most of the time

at the base of the rushes in the shadows. They

haven’t been seen for about two weeks.

Four Latham’s Snipe have been seen regularly in the

same area. They spend some time on the mud but retreat into the grass as soon as they see you.

Painted Snipe – 1/1000sec, f/8,

ISO 400, 500mm.

Latham’s Snipe – 1/500 sec, f/8,

ISO 800, 500 mm.

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Also regularly seen in this area have been Wandering and Plumed Whistling-Ducks, Royal Spoonbill, Little

Egret, as well as many Eurasian Coot, Dusky Moorhen and Purple Swamphen. A full list is on Eremaea with a

count of 108 species.

The ponds are surrounded by shrubs that support a good number of Honeyeater, Finches and Mannikin. Little

and Tawny Grassbird and Reed Warblers are seen on the pond edges.

Scarlet Honeyeater – 1/800, f/8,

ISO 800mm. 500mm.

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin – 1/1000sec,

f/8, ISO 800, 500mm

At the southern end of the wetland the concrete path that surrounds the three ponds winds into the

rainforest area where many of the bush birds live. To the western side of the wetlands and rainforest is a

grassy area that is awaiting development where Finches and Red-backed Wrens can be found.

I live only a kilometer or so from the wetland and I often spend a couple of hours before breakfast wandering

around or hiding in the bushes waiting for a photo opportunity. I hope the neighbours don’t think we are

spying on them with our big lenses and binoculars as there have often been six or more birders there each

time I visit and 25 on one Saturday.

I upgraded my equipment after the Ingham photographic weekend as the Fuji didn’t make the grade and now

use a Nikon D7100 with a Sigma 150-500 mm Lens. Of late I have been using manual mode with auto ISO. I

bought the Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM after reading reviews and because it was one of the few

500mm zoom lenses and it cost 1/3 of the cost of the Nikon 100-400mm that I wanted. It focuses quickly and

seems to keep a sharp image throughout the range and the optical stabilization works well. It lacks sharpness

at low light probably because of the f-stop of 6.3 at 500mm. The Nikon helps here as I have taken photos at

6400 ISO without too much graininess.

Queensland Ornithological Conference: The State of Australia’s Birds hosted by

BirdLife Southern Queensland

& Birds Queensland

The additional attachment with our regular newsletter is promoting this annual conference to be held in

Brisbane.

We have been able to gain additional information for members about the bird photography competition, bird

field trips and workshops, which is detailed below.

There is to be a bird photography competition open for members to submit photos with the following

guidelines:-

Australian Birds only (more than one photo can be submitted - maximum is 5)

Photos should be in electronic format (no larger than 5 mb in jpeg or tiff only) and at a resolution adequate

to be well displayed on a laptop screen.

These photos will then be on looping slide shows on lap tops at the conference.

Printed photos will also be accepted for those members who prefer to display their images in this format

(maximum again is 5)

Members can choose either electronic format or printed format.

Photos will be deleted after the conference, unless members specify that BirdLife Southern Queensland

can store them to be used for conservation purposes later.

Photos will be judged by a panel and prizes awarded. (TBA)

Expressions of interest to be a judge and photos links to folders with the photos i.e. dropbox etc can be

sent to the e-mail below

In addition to the photography competition there are also bird field trips including a bird walk on the

Sunday morning at Oxley Common -if you are interested in leading any bird photographers on this field trip

please use email below.

If you’re interested in the conference, the workshops, being a judge and/or the photography competition

please e-mail queenslandbirdconference@gmail.com

To register for the conference please visit:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1nLJzZ3Ab01M5iBz7x7os628wIjJSEtGQWfIFwjX9wzo/viewform

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