Anhingas -- Venice Rookery

[Dennis Bishop]

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

[Cheryl Slechta]

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

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . 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. . .

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.

[Mark Fuge]

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

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

[Arthur Morris]

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?

[Dennis Bishop]

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

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

[Arthur Morris]

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

[Anita Bower]

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!

[Dennis Bishop]

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

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.

[Kerry Perkins]

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!