Green Heron stalking

[Jeannean Ryman]

I captured this photo and know that it could use improvement...like having a lower angle and not cutting off the feet. However, in situations like this, I was as low as I could go without violating the wetland rules of not moving off the dock, so I put the tripod at the lowest level and laid down on the dock and couldn't move back any further to get the whole bird in (using Nikon D7000 w/500mm. I'm not willing to violate park rules to get a photo at a better angle.) I'd like to get rid of the distractions within the white line (made in PS for illustration), but even after looking at tutorials on quick masks, I'm still not understanding it. (previous post of Kiskadee suggestion QMs for getting rid of clutter, as content aware isn't doing the job sometimes) If anyone is willing to edit this and provide the steps to getting rid of this clutter, I'd appreciate it (and know others in my situation would too). Also, it came to mind that although I like the Green Heron stalking through this natural "frame", would more experienced photographers delete this image due to the limitations?

[Karen Forderer]

Hi Jeannean,

I really like this photo. The heron is very sharp and the feathers are nicely defined. The only things I would want to change are the log behind his head and his missing toes. I like his intense look. I was able to get my first green heron photos a couple of weeks ago and I definitely did not get this close!

Karen

[John Chardine]

Hi Jeannean- There is lots to like about this image. What strikes me right away is the great sharpness of the head/eye, in fact the whole bird less the feet. I like the light too, even though it's harsh. Did you use flash? Could you post the technical details of the image.

Take a look at the image and consider the balance you have up and down, left to right. You have strong lines originating from the LR and most of the "action" is in the UR. The OOF vegetation LL balances this to some degree so it may not be the best idea to remove it. If you do remove it there are several ways to "skin a cat". First, see that you have some nice source pixels to the right of the area in question. Note however, that these are not homogeneous and grade from lighter to darker, top to bottom and there's a yellow tinge to the pixels in the upper area. I just used the Clone tool in Photoshop, first set at 100% flow and the Aligned box unchecked. I picked a source that seemed similar and started cloning. As the gradation is top to bottom, as you clone further down, pick a source further down that better matches what's there. I ended up with no veg but the BG was blotchy. Then you set the Clone tool to say 30% flow and pick an average source and go over the area evening it out. This one took about 60s so in 5 min you could do a really nice job.

Maybe as the thread develops we can get into quickmasking.

[Ronald Zigler]

The head detail, sharpness and color of this bird is absolutely gorgeous Jeannean. Did I miss the camera, lens and settings?

[Dan Brown]

Nice capture, Jeanean! Very sharp! As for the veggies at the bottom, like John stated there's a lotta ways to skin a cat! For my attempt, I used Content Aware Fill in CS5. It took three quick rounds to get all the veggies, then a few clone tool passed for touch up and that's it. Hope you have CS5?

[Jeannean Ryman]

Thank you all! Nice jobs! I'm sorry I forgot to state the technical details, so here they are: Nikon D7000/500mm f/4-P@1/1000, f/6.3, ISO 250. No flash. It was early morning, but the sun was pretty bright. John, I think you're right about the OOF green vegetation. I might try to clone out just the brown and leave some of the green. I did get other "cleaner" photos of the heron, but liked this because of the natural frame it was moving through. I do have CS5, so will practice my content aware filling/cloning stamp skills. Again, thank you all for taking the time to help me with this photo!

[Jeannean Ryman]

Here's the edit incorporating the above suggestions. I like it better now. Thank you!

[Bob Miller]

Jeannean.....You did a great job with your repost! I like that you left a few of the veggies in...just the right amount ...This is a strong image with good framing , sharp detail and a good pose. ....a bit more dof would have been nice to bring that leg into focus better....but still a strong image! Nice work! Keep them coming!

[John Chardine]

Well done Jeannean. I like that you left some veg to provide some balance.