Yellow Crowned Night Heron

[Clyde Hopper]

This image was created over a year ago . I feel it is one of my best . I'm posting it here now for C and C . ( If my best can get better ,I can learn more ) is my thought pattern ,on this .......
The time of day was a few hours before sun-set . The sun and beach were behind me .
as for my c&c ,I'm not sure if there is enough room at the bottom .
as for pp , sharpened ,cropped , and darkened the BG a good bit .....A lot actually . I will say my work-flow and ability have changed ,so I may be better served revisiting this photo ,and re-processing it .
EXIF
D90
1/500 ss
f/5.6 lens is a 70-300 nikor @ 300 mm
ISO 200 Av mode with EV 0




Night Heron II by Clyde Hopper, on Flickr

[Jeannean Ryman]

Clyde, I think as we gain knowledge, many of us will revisit earlier photos. This is a nice shot of the heron. I'll take a stab at C&C, but take it with a grain of salt...I'm here to learn too.

I would experiment with different crops to take the bird out of the center of the frame (i'd take some off the right and add a bit to the bottom if possible). Also consider leaving some of the background visible unless it was just horrible. I personally don't object to seeing a bird in it's natural environment in photos. Sometimes, it adds to the overall feel of a photo...sometimes it's just distracting. Since we can't really see it, it's your call. On my monitor, the clarity, color, and sharpness all seem good and like the level you shot at. I can see why you like it. Hopefully, more will chime in with their thoughts. They sure help me!

[David N Smith]

Clyde, I agree with Jeannean about cropping some off on the right but myself I would like a little more added to the top as to me the top seems a little squashed. Now with 2 critiques and 2 different opinions let's see what others have to say.

David

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Clyde,

Greetings. A nice sharp image with good detail through the grays. Different people have different opinions about exposing for whites, but this seems a bit over exposed to me. The darkened background with it's sharp contrast will tend to accentuate the lack of fine detail on the head whites... I would be inclined to not darken the background as much. A little room on the bottom for virtual feet and transfer the room on the right to room on the left. If you can add some on the bottom, you would want to add some on the top.

Lots to like... with the feather pattern on the back and particularly the eye.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Clyde, I am a big fan of dark backgrounds but I do agree with Michael regarding the exposure. I think you could have gone 1/3 stop lower with the exposure and had a better image. I'm thinking of writing a book called "1/3 Stop to Better Images". There are some areas in which the red channel is at 255, which means it is clipped. I do like the dramatic look to the image and the nice detail on the heron. I seem to always want to put tall birds like this in a vertical frame, but that might just be me. It seems to me that when you make enough negative space for them in a horizontal they start to seem out of proportion unless you include lots of environment. Might just be me though...

[Clyde Hopper]

Thank you ,Each of you ,for your cc. What I'm taking away from your comments are . 1) more head room and foot room, room for invisible feet and if the neck was extended . 2) crop so the subject is not so close to center . And 3 ) properly adjust the tone of the subject itself ,with may-be not so dark a back ground .
@ jeannean , I find that giving Critique is as important as receiving it ,to help me learn . By all means ,please add your view /opinions . It is the responsibly of the person receiving the critique to decide if the opinion is valid or not . From what I've seen on here , 100 % has been good advice .

[Clyde Hopper]

Revisited old photo by Clyde Hopper, on Flickr


re processed photograph using the suggestions given . I'm not so sure :((

[Colin Gilyeat]

Clyde,

I really like this crop better than the original, and I think I like the exposure a better as well. Very nice.

Colin

[Randall Farhy]

Hi Colin-I'm all for good C&C as it helps everyone learn faster and work more efficiently, no matter their skill level. This is a fine capture and the comments above pretty much cover the areas of concern. I prefer the processing of the 2nd image but feel it's too tight for a vertical, the horizontal feels more comfortable to my eye. I'd leave space on the top, bottom and to the left and crop it only slightly from the right on the original.

Is the original file RAW? I get the feeling a little more detail can be drawn out of the highs if this is the case. If it's a camera produced JPEG, the clipping Kerry describes isn't necessarily an exposure error. It could be due to the format and how the camera processes it.

[Clyde Hopper]

Hi Colin-I'm all for good C&C as it helps everyone learn faster and work more efficiently, no matter their skill level. This is a fine capture and the comments above pretty much cover the areas of concern. I prefer the processing of the 2nd image but feel it's too tight for a vertical, the horizontal feels more comfortable to my eye. I'd leave space on the top, bottom and to the left and crop it only slightly from the right on the original.

Is the original file RAW? I get the feeling a little more detail can be drawn out of the highs if this is the case. If it's a camera produced JPEG, the clipping Kerry describes isn't necessarily an exposure error. It could be due to the format and how the camera processes it.

Thanks for the comments ,Randall . I only shoot in RAW ....eerrr .... I only use RAW format with my photography....( Yea ,That sounds a bit better ) LOL