I captured this image at a heron rookery, where the nests were quite far from the boardwalk on which I was standing. So I cropped it a great deal, which I realize reduces image quality. My question is, do you think the interaction of the birds makes up for the large crop and reduced image quality sufficiently for me to post this on my photography website? (It's not that I would want to sell it...the question is, is it good enough to display in public??!!) I think when the chicks hatch I'm going to rent a longer lens....
Canon 7D Mark II
300 f/4 with 1.4 extender
ISO 640, f/5.6, 1/3200s
Herons have always been hard to get close to, for me. This is a very clean setting with great interaction. How much of a crop is it?
I wish there was more space right and left. Or you could come in more from the left so that straight trunk wasn't up against the edge.
There are very noticeable sharpening/resizing artifacts, that could maybe be reduced with re-processing. The birds don't look bad but the nest is a mess. A re-shoot in softer light could help. too. ISO 640 with that body should be decent, but trying to sharpen can be problematic. At any distance, atmospheric effects can be a problem for sharpness.
Hi Wendy, I really like the interaction of the two herons. I agree with Diane that the light is very harsh and the heron on the right is cut off. I would be (as Diane suggested) inclined to shoot the nest in soft golden light. Additionally, the sky is very noisy; part of that is the extreme crop but for some reason the blue channel of digital sensors are very prone to noise so shooting in softer light and with clouds to break up the uniform blue sky might be helpful. steve
When I first saw this I thought, great interaction, but harsh light. Others seem to agree. Re posting....I think it depends on the purpose of your website. If it is something you are happy with and want to share with others, then post it. If you can post a comment with it, you may want to mention the positive of the interaction despite harsh light problems.
Thanks, all. It is interesting that everyone perceives harsh light, when in fact I made the image at about 6:30pm, 1.5 hours prior to sunset. So, although it was not yet golden light, it was within the "2 hour" window of good light. Perhaps the window of good light is actually narrower? Also, I'm wondering if the problems (e.g. heavy shadow across the female heron; high-contrast nest) are due more to my overdoing the post-processing work flow. I may try to tone down the post-processing and repost later to see what you think.
As far as the crop goes, the tail of the heron on the right was actually behind a tree trunk which was out of focus and distracting, which is why I cut it out. I can add some room on the left though...it was a significant crop so I have more tree trunks and snags that can be added back in!
Last edited by Wendy Kates; 05-04-2015 at 01:51 PM.
Light can be harsh at that time and shortly after sunrise. It depends on sky / air conditions. And processing can make it better or worse. The ability of ACR / LR to pull out more detail in a wide tonal range is very powerful, augmented by further work in PS.
Lovely capture with the two subjects interacting and such a nice behaviour element (male collecting sticks to help the female maintain the nest). Not sure what the frame looked like before the crop with the OOF tree trunk, I personally would rather have the "virtual " tail included, than no tail at all
I am glad you recognise the issues with this image, some of which can be fixed with some careful PP work, just remember that curves and levels are powerful tools and need to be used gently, ideally one should make adjustments selectively and not to the entire image.
Perhaps it would be good if you spent a few minutes (when posting) to describe your processing steps, it would help moderators and members understand how you came to a particular result and you'll receive more detailed feedback.
I will pop in from time to time to see your next posts, I do hope to see the chicks as well! Whew...that 500 lens will come in handy
Herons Nesting
