Snowy Egret

[Jim Crosswell]

This was taken at St. Pete Beach, Florida. I spent one morning following the Snowies on the beach. This image was going to be binned but thought I would see what could be done in post processing. Top left wing was clipped and Egret was in the top right corner of the original frame. I liked the action of the wave and the surfing Snowy. All C&Cs are welcome and appreciated.

Canon 1D MK IV
500L f4
1.4 Extender
ISO 1000
f8
1/5000s
Tripod

[Shawn Zierman]

Crisp and classy image. The wave action and how it's breaking on the heron make this one memorable. I like the composition too, in terms of it being tight, but not too tight. Exposure is spot on. The post processing looks flawless to me.

[douglas hayes]

Whites are beauty full and wave action and egret balancing makes for fine action shot. What were the light conditions and processing procedures?

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks Shawn and Douglas. It was 930am with a clear blue sky. I used free transform to move a section of the wave that was behind the Egret and placed it in front lining it up with the wave. I used the cloning tool at varying opacity levels to blend the wave. Here is the RAW unedited image to show you the starting point. I normally wouldn't process to this degree and it is excessive but I liked the image. I enjoyed the challenge.

[keith mitchell]

Jim that is a clever piece of work if I had not have known about what you had done without reading the above, I think you have been left with a super image and was well worth your effort.

Keith.:S3:

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jim, apart from great canvas extentions, we dont often see 'surfing' egrets. Well timed to capture the action, and the whites look good. That water actually looks quite inviting, but have no idea how cold it is in your part of the world. :w3

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks Keith and Stuart. Stuart the water temperature was around 19C when I was in Florida. Now on the lake where I live we have ice 6 inches thick for over 20 miles!

[Daniel Cadieux]

A fun image for sure, it was worth the extra effort to salvage it. Great work on the processing...can I only suggest perhaps removing the added dark spot at the wingtip to our right? Other than that I'm really digging this alot.

[John Rowell]

Body surfing at its best. This is a wonderful image and I think that you did a really good job of fixing this in post, I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't told us. Nice and sharp, like all your posts. I like this lots.

[Holger Leyrer]

Perfect Timing. Stunning image. I love the action.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot, and timing, exposure is excellent, a good example of worthwhile processing.

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks everyone for the comments and suggestions.