Two and one fish

[annmpacheco]

Here's a mated couple from SW FL fishing on the tidal flats. I used Topaz AI and that improved the oof male. I straightened the image along the water where she was fishing but the BG has a slight slope to it. I like the water movement and the bubble behind the foot, and how he is taking a subtle glance her way. She's a good catch!

1 Dx
840mm

ISO 1600
7.1
1/2500

[gail bisson]

I am so impressed with the AI and your processing! I remember seeing this image on your laptop and thinking the rear reddish was too OOF to salvage the image but this is a fantastic "save".
My favorite part is the bubble behind the foot.
Love the interaction and low POV.
Well done Ann!
Gail
PS Reddish egrets do not do "menage a trois"!:bg3:

[Daniel Cadieux]

Fantastic breeding colours on the male! I almost missed the fish, but the title had me look closer for that. The upper third of the image tells me it is level, but the lower third tells me it needs a bit of CW rotation...argh with the illusions at times eh!! Like Gail, I love the bubble (and the rising foot for that matter). Did you see these in Iceland? (Just kidding of course...)

[Bill Dix]

What a fantastic juxtaposition of the pair. I've never seen them fishing together like this. The breeding male is lovely even if a bit OOF, and I also like his slight head turn.. Nice recovery. (Bunche Beach?)

[dankearl]

Wow, this is nice processing, some may quibble as I think it looks artful and maybe lost fine detail, but I would frame it.

[Kurt Bowman]

This is a lovely frame Ann! Love the movement throughout the frame, great save on the back bird...I will have to try Topaz AI. Great action and image!

[Paul Burdett]

Beautiful image Ann. Exposure , sharpness, poses, water, reflection ,BG...all top notch. Glad Topaz rescued this one.

[arash_hazeghi]

Isn't it funny you think my image was soft and crunchy but you find this acceptable :eek3:, the hind bird is still OOF and what I would call soft and coarse. the neck and shoulder have no fine details... Maybe different eyesight or perception ? I am not sure.

The light was soft and low angle was nice too. The front one is sharper but not tack sharp to my eye, I'd sharpen it more...the main issue for me is that it doesn't have a good wing position, if the wing was raised it would be much more dynamic IMO.

TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Month, year, location please. The breeding plumage bird, the one in the back, has some nice color. I am pretty sure that they are not sexually dimorphic, i.e., you cannot distinguish the males from the females.

Like Arash, I have several problems with this one. It looks as if it needs some CW rotation. The bird in the front is angled away from us, and the wing position is not pleasing.

with love, artie

[William Dickson]

The colours throughout the image look real good here Ann...I like it....Lovely detail and the FG and BG show the birds well....Good pose on both birds and that facial expression on the bird behind ....The eye is on the fish....I would try a slight CW rotation. Well captured.

Will

[Brian Sump]

Ann, totally see your note on the rotation. If I scroll down and use the bottom of the monitor to draw a line, I think you got it right based on the foreground wake, albeit it was a challenging one I'm sure.

For me, the colors even light and action make the frame. For using the AI product I think it turned out very nice. One thing you can try is using the "Recover original detail" slider and see if it gives you back a touch of grain.

Overall, pleasing to the eye!

[John Mack]

I like it. Nice to see the first bird with the little fish. Yes the breeding plummage on the second bird is nice.