Anhingas -- Venice Rookery

After anticipating it for so long, I finally made it to the Venice rookery. I'd seen enough photos of shoulder-to-shoulder photographers with tripods and long lenses to be prepared for that, but I was surprised at how small the island is. The birds were nearly as tightly packed as those of us across the water from them. Although I got many shots -- this one, included -- from the shore nearest the island, I also got a good number from a walk around the pond. Most folks seemed pretty much rooted in place, but I'd highly recommend walking around the shore.

Nikon D3S, ISO 4000, f/10, 1/1000 sec, zoom at 400mm

processing highlights

• substantial cropping (Not too long after taking the shot that resulted in this image, I broke out the 2X teleconverter.)
• Flypaper Textures -- For a new sky. The real one was absolutely featureless. Lots of masking, but worth it.
• Topaz Simplify -- Watercolor II, masked off the pepper berries
• Photo Filter adjustment layer -- Deep Yellow, masked off the sky
• Nik Color Efex -- single layer, Contrast Color Range and Darken/Lighten Center, masked off the anhinga on the right
• Redfield Fractalius -- three different B&W layers, Multiply blend mode
• uniform gradient vignette

Dennis, I'm glad you got to the Rookery. This image does a great job of illustrating the habitat. I could see a small crop from the right but I'm sure you didn't want to lose any of the clusters of berries. It's lovely:S3:

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Originally Posted by Cheryl Slechta

. . . I could see a small crop from the right but I'm sure you didn't want to lose any of the clusters of berries. . .

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Thanks, Cheryl. After reading your reaction, I tried a crop from the right. That would work, too, but I'm not sure which I like better. My initial decision was based entirely on the anhingas, not the berries. However, it was nice that it worked in favor of more berries.

Nice image and application Dennis, in a very changed environment.

Like the fog like effect in the BG. Blocks out the trailer park! :w3

By skillfully selecting and adding the various effects you have taken a commonplace, cluttered image and created a work of art. What was the light like whenn you created the image?

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

. . . What was the light like whenn you created the image?

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It was taken at 8:15 on a foggy morning. At that point, the fog was probably just starting to clear.

Thanks D. That's what I had thought. If you had said "sunny" that would have made you even more of a magician :S3:.

Gorgeous. It looks like a painting--completely. The composition is fabulous. The position of the birds excellent. The foliage and berries are wonderful. I like the subdued colors. I might clean up the dark area around the black bird's beak. A minor crop from the right to get rid of the berries that are half in and half out, or, cloning them out. Love, love, love this image!

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Originally Posted by Anita Bower

. . . I might clean up the dark area around the black bird's beak. . .

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Thanks for your comments, Anita. I noticed that silly thing at the end of the beak last night and growled at myself. It's a leaf that's in exactly the wrong spot, and I should've masked it out.

Hi Dennis, I'm sorry I missed this in a haze of pain meds, but I want to say that it is beautiful! The image and style reminds me a lot of the images in the Asian art calendars that I buy every year. A wonderful example of what can be done with an artistic eye and a mastery of filters and layers. Superb!