GBH at the Dike

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Sony A700~Sony70-400G@400mm~ISO1000~1/1250 sec~F5.6~manual exposure~HH~9-20-2010~Texas City Dike~CS4~Redfield Fractalius
My usual Frac treatment, a bit more contrast and saturation. Comments and critique welcomed. regards~Bill

my website (http://avianimagesource.com)

[Kerry Perkins]

Bill, I like the added contrast and saturation. Nice pose and composition. I like the s-curve of the neck and the horizontal single feather. Looks like first or last light of the day - has a nice feel.

[denise ippolito]

Bill, I like the softness of the image. Sharp enough where needed but the overall feel is lovely. I like the pose and the water BG. Nice subtle effect with the Fract.
ps. I added the prefix weekly theme to this as it is eligible for our weekly contest.

[Mark Fuge]

Very nice image and application, Bill.

Agree with the above. Like the slight added contrast and saturation.

The only critique I have is I might have added a little canvas on the left. But great either way. ;)

[Dan Brown]

Nice heron Bill. The only problem that I see here, (on my laptop at least), is that I cannot tell that this is OOTB? If you hadn't mentions the Fract usage, I would say it's not!

[Arthur Morris]

Yes, it looks pretty close to high key real. Like the light and the raised foot. I am fine with the framing. Would like to see only a bit more head turn towards us.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

I appreciate the comments as always. Dan; interesting that you have difficulty determining that it is indeed a frac image. On my previous post (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?72222-American-Oystercatcher), in which comments were made that reflected a want for more contrast and saturation, my arguement was that by using (and starting out with) less contrast/saturation it emphasized the lines created by fractalius. Here I have an example of precisely what I was referring to; increase saturation/contrast and the visual effects of fractalius are diminished, so much so that you have difficulty in distinguishing it from a normal photograh. Actually there are black outlines in this image, especially the legs, that are unlike a normal photograph.
Kerry; taken at noon, overcast, light rain, windy (from the right, thus the herons head feathers almost horizontal). Low contrast, soft light, and no shadows, my absolute preference. The heron was in motion walking to the right, and although I too would have like a slight glance my way, it did'nt happen at any time during the photographic sequence. regards~Bill