Great Blue Heron
I went out after work a couple of days ago to try to practice BIF at a local park. I was fortunate to come upon this Great Blue Heron.
Nikon D4
300mm/F4.0 w/1.4 TC
ISO 800
F5.6 @ 1/1600
PP in develop module of LR and cropped about 60%
I wish the BG was less busy - and closer so I wouldn't have to crop so much. Would love input how I could have done better.
Jeff
Jeff, it looks like you nailed the focus, was this handheld with the TC? You caught a nice wing position that shows the body (most favor dropped wings, but if everyone only posted those...). Lighting looks a little flat, probably due to the bright overcast, no offensive shadows on the bird. I realize you mentioned this was an opportunistic capture-well done. That said, my only critique would be distance to subject. 300 with a 1.4 and 60% crop...definitely pushing the limits there...keep at it and keep'em coming!
What Randall said, Jeff! Don't think I'd dare crop anymore...besides, I really like Birds/Environment images! Although it's a Great Blue.... the wings seem a bit too blue-saturated? Could just be me too. TFS!
www.mibirdingnetwork.com .... A place for bird and nature lovers in the Great Lakes area.
Good catch by Wendy on the blue cast on the bird, but it's nice you managed to hold focus on the bird. Ii is well exposed and I really like the background -- it shows a very nice environment that is just out of focus enough not to compete with the bird.
The only thing I can suggest for better quality is to get closer to the subject -- not easy, I know!
Thanks for the imput. I thought the BG was a little busy, but its nice to hear from others that it doesn't always have to be completely blurred out. As for the 'blueness,' I checked my PP: I did not change the WB which was set to Auto, and no adjustments on Vibrance or Saturation. I suppose it was from the cloudy lighting conditions, so I have reposted with a warmer WB. Thanks for your input. Jeff
Yes, nice! The WB in camera or auto in the raw converter is only a guess. You can also work on saturation and hue of the blues, leaving the other colors alone, but I really like the warmer look here.
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