Great Blue

[susanschermer]

They are always so graceful.
Mark 3, 400 f/4DO lens, ISO800, f/5, 1/2500.

[Steve Maxson]

I really like the pose and sharpness, Susan. I think a boost in contrast (without losing detail in the shadow) would give this more snap and make the image even better. Well done.

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

I really like your image here but it appeared to be a bit washed out on my monitor, so I did a little work on it in PS. First I add a reverse S curve to it to make it pop a little and hen a littel blkack to the image. Last but not least I sharpened it using a change to LAB color then a smart sharpener(not very much and rthen changed it back to RGB. What do you think?

[john crookes]

I like the original pose and agree that it needs a tad more PP work.

The repost introduces noise in the BG and there are halos around the bird and the contrast is a bit over the top for my taste needs to be toned down

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Susan,

Really like your shot - very special pose - granted that the light is nice but a little off the ideal angle. Over here we get more of the slightly smaller Grey Herons and I have been chasing Great White Egrets a couple of times this winter without success. Good to see you are having success and getting so many nice images.

Not so wild about the re-post, though - seems to create many more problems than it solves!

Best wishes,

Gerald

[Linda Robbins]

Cute landing pose and the head angle is great. I think the washed out look to the image could have been caused by an excessive shadow/highlight adjustment. Increasing contrast with a curves adjustment and adding a few points of black with a selective color adjustment will do the trick. Nice capture.

[susanschermer]

Went back to raw file. Image posted has no s/h adjusment. It is almost exactly as it looks in RAW. I started fresh, added fill in RAW, and in CS4 adjusted the curve to the white point, which really added the contrast needed. Added Vibrance, Yellow in Color Balance, and some sat. Here is what I came up with.

[Bill McCrystyn]

LOL. In my opinion you had it nailed in the original post with maybe one hit of linear contrast in curves to the bird only. Now you have lost sharpness and added noise. You have a great shot. Don't over PS it. Linda really hit just right.