Purple Swamp Hen

[Glennie Passier]

This image taken from a kayak in a fast moving river. Overcast and gentle rain. We saw darters, kingfishers, a sleepy goanna, more plumed whistling ducks and this little purple swamp hen. The bird was busy preening, and unlike every other living creature on the river, didn't notice the kayak travelling past in the current.

The river's banks are quite overgrown and recovering from huge floods a few years back. It was hard to get a clear shot without the tangle of grasses and logs behind. I realise there are branches disecting his head and piercing his breast. I don't mind the diagonal log. There was a little patch of weird purple fungus on the log behind the bird... (Not really! I think I've over done the Saturation sliders. I didn't notice it until posted.)

In ACR - Highlight, Shadow, White and Black sliders as well as Clarity and Vibrance. In HSL - Blue and magenta pushed a little to the right.

In PS cropped to 40% of full frame, resized and selectively sharpened. A little dodging and burning.

Canon 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF100-4-- f4.5-5.6L IS USM @ 400mm
1/500 f5.6
ISO 1000
Spot Metering
Manual Exposure
Hand Held

C&C Always welcomed and appreciated!

[Warren Spreng]

Terrific! I love the pose, the image is sharp where it needs to be, colors are very nice. I really like the perch too, I don't see the BG as a major problem as the bird stands out nicely.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice! As Warren says, the bird is prominent enough that the BG isn't bothersome. I like the soft BG colors and the bird doesn't look overdone at all. It looks sharp, with a nice pose, good eye contact and that amazing foot, too! If you wanted to remove the purple spot on the log, try a quick mask and make a masked adjustment layer out of the painted area, maybe for Hue-Sat and see if you can neutralize the purple.

My only suggestion would be to remove the spider web, as it draws my attention.

I doubt an Audubon illustration would have included the new growth on the perch, but not much could be done with it without a huge lot of trouble. I might try to subdue its color a bit.

[Glennie Passier]

Thank you Warren. I saw your wonderful "foggy morning" image in Landscapes and a very interesting thread it is. I didn't feel I was up to critiquing in that forum. But I jut loved the cool misty feel. A very peaceful place.

[Glennie Passier]

Diane, thank you again. I have taken your advice and I apply no sharpening at all until I post. I'm very happy with the result. As said before, I have been so tied up with "sharp" images, I would "sharpen" the bejesus out of them.

The swamp hens have incredible feet (not webbed) and strangely enough can swim very well. They stick their heads out like a racing turtle and away they go.

Funny. I actually highlighted the spider web more. But I can see that it is attention seeking.

Your Audubon looks just the same as our Neville Cayley.

I did a hue layer over the very bright green leaves on the leaves to yellow them down a bit. Maybe a tad more on the lower ones.

Thanks Diane. I'm having a great time here.