Took this shot at Wakodahatchee Wetlands. Details are below. I know the wings are a little soft, but I thought the angle and the sharpness of the face and bill were pretty good. I also liked the deep green background color. What do you think?
Canon 7D - f/7.1 - 1/800sec - ISO 800 - 800mm L Lens - Manual Mode
Its always good to capture a subject in behaviour mode, and the stick adds interest. Wth such a large subject, you were lucky not to have cut off the right wing of the heron. Comp wise, I feel the heron is too tight in the frame, more space all round will work, but maybe you just had too much glass ( something we all sometimes wish for ) I also feel the green of the BG is a touch too 'saturated' - if it was as shot, I would still tone it down a bit more.
The large stick to the right of the bird is quite distracting. I think you could sharpen up the heron's head a little bit. NIce that you captured him with nesting material with a good pose. Agree on toning down the green BG and the bird being a little too tight in the frame. I guess we photographers who don't have an 800 don't have that problem as often. :)
It was nice to have had the opportunity to meet you last weekend. Glad you had so much fun over on our side of the State. Looking forward to more images from you.
Hi Stuart: Thanks for the suggestion. I don't think I played with the saturation at all so I will definitively take a look. I did increase the contrast a bit so maybe that brought the colors out more.
Marina: It was great meeting you as well. Thank you very much for your feedback! I may try to play with the PS cloning tool to see if I can get rid of the background stick. And yes... I definitively "hate" having the 800. It's such a nuisance being able to almost reach out and touch your subjects through the lens! :) (end of sarcastic remark) In fact, my biggest issue is still learning to use it properly. It is hard to track flying subjects, not to mention even finding them in the first place! :) I am missing more shots now than when I used my 100-400. But, like everything, it's a question of practice and perseverance.
I've made a few changes: Tried to use the clone tool to remove the distracting branches on the right side and also desaturated the image a bit. Would you be able to tell that major work was done to this image? Do the colors look more appropriate?
Flying Great Blue Heron With a Small Stick
) I also feel the green of the BG is a touch too 'saturated' - if it was as shot, I would still tone it down a bit more.
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