African Jacana

[Bill Dix]

While in Botswana, we only had one outing in the makoros. Our guide rightly said that we would see more birds elsewhere. Although he was right, it was worth taking an afternoon on the water to get some good low POV shots of a few species like this African Jacana.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 600mm; ISO 1600, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual. I considered removing the stalks on the right, but decided I liked it better with them.

[John Mack]

At first look i didn't like the reeds on the right. But now i see they give some nice scale. Good detail on the bird. Nice low angle.

[Glenn Pure]

Hey Bill, another very fine image here. This is another bird I'd have loved to get a good shot of but didn't manage it. You've certainly got a beauty here. The low POV makes this along with the tiny flowers below and reeds on the right, presented in an effective composition. Great detail and processing work again and the light looks great too. Looks like a couple of pesky OOF reeds in the foreground but they aren't having much impact luckily. Keep them coming

[John Whaley]

Hey Bill, another very fine image here. This is another bird I'd have loved to get a good shot of but didn't manage it. You've certainly got a beauty here. The low POV makes this along with the tiny flowers below and reeds on the right, presented in an effective composition. Great detail and processing work again and the light looks great too. Looks like a couple of pesky OOF reeds in the foreground but they aren't having much impact luckily. Keep them coming

Agreed - High IQ and feather detail. Well captured, composed, processed and I do like the reeds anchoring the right side. I am finding the OOF reeds in the foreground distracting and want to clone them out. ( although easier said than done )

[Isaac Grant]

Nice to get this one out in the open. I think the reeds balance the bird really well. The shot is too dark and cool. I think it would benefit from lifting the exposure and warming it up a little to bring out the beautiful tones of this bird. I am not a fan of those 2 out of focus things in the foreground. I would also try and clone out that odd looking leaf thing on the left edge of the frame that is behind the bird. Would take some work but you could do it. You have a very nice frame here that I think with a bit more PS work could really shine.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Nice detail, Bill. We sure had some nice low points of view from the makoros, and this is a great example. I like the composition and the reeds.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Tim Foltz]

Bill, nice angle, beautiful colors, nice details, the reeds are fine but I would remove the OOF ones in the front.

-Tim

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. I agree about the oof vegetation. It did extend further into the frame and I took some of it out; but I didn't know how to remove the lower portion without ruining the foreground detail. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, excellent low angle here, and nice to have this fellow in the open, They are fairly skittish so kudos to you for also achieving a fairly good pose too. Colours look spot on. Once again, it looks like the light was unkind to you, so I am fine with the exposure.

[Dorian Anderson]

I think this is great Bill. Flat light doesn't bother me a bit since the bird pops so much and the exposure is perfect. As for the vegetation, its totally cool, it's an authentic look at this marsh denizen. Nice!

[Glenn Pure]

Thank you all. I agree about the oof vegetation. It did extend further into the frame and I took some of it out; but I didn't know how to remove the lower portion without ruining the foreground detail. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Bill, another option that I have used with limited success in the past is to select the offending blobs with soft edge and then play with saturation, brightness, contrast and tint to make the blobs less obvious. It won't get rid of them but it will reduce their visual impact if done carefully. Takes a bit of fiddling and trial and error though.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Dorian.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Glenn. That's essentially what I tried in the OP. I reduced the saturation of the greens, reduced the brightness and played with the contrast. I didn't get the formula quite right. I guess I'll give it another try.