Another Great Blue Heron, ruffled, preening

[Jon Pugmire]

This was a significant crop, but I couldn't help myself to try and give it a shot at PP anyway. Lacks detail and a bit noisy, but I didn't mess with the colors. I couldn't get the 2x installed before he walked back into the bushes. I was shooting wood ducks closer up when I walked forward and spotted him ruffling. I have similar images of a Green Heron from the same location some time back that I need to go look at again, Crystal Spring Rhododendron Garden in Portland, OR.

Canon 50D, 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM II, HH
1/160, f/5.0, ISO 400, 200mm
Overcast day, but bright.

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Nice scene Jon! The focus is a little soft with quite a lot of noise on the bird itself (for ISO 400). Was this a heavy crop or did you raise the exposure somewhat in PP?

[David Kenny]

I am not the greatest at seeing color but it seems like there is a blue color cast here. I agree about the noise on the bird as well.

[Jon Pugmire]

Nice scene Jon! The focus is a little soft with quite a lot of noise on the bird itself (for ISO 400). Was this a heavy crop or did you raise the exposure somewhat in PP?

As noted, it's a significant crop, by the time I got the 2x extender out, he walked back into the bushes. That's why pros carry 2 bodies. He was originally pretty small in frame. I had never seen one ruffled like that either, so I decided to crop and see what I could pull out in PP.

I don't know a lot about heron's, but when I turned the corner and saw him, I remember immediately thinking I've never seen one this blue before. It was very striking.

[Randy Stout]

Joe:

It is a nice preening pose, understand your desire to work on it. I also am seeing the blue cast that David mentioned. Depending on how busy the environment is, you could probably loosen your crop some to improve the IQ, and still have the bird a nice size in the frame.

Cheers

Randy

[Diane Miller]

When you say you didn't mess with the colors, keep in mind that the camera can only guess at a white balance. The more monochromatic a scene, the less accurate the guess. Here's a quick suggestion, just a Color Balance moving the midtones toward yellow and a trace toward magenta. Always "question authority" in regards to WB.