Pinnated Bittern, another view

[Bill Dix]

This is a prequel to yesterday's post. When we first spotted the Bittern, I found a small window through the reeds that gave me only a partial view of him; most was obscured by foreground vegetation but I did manage this head shot, albeit with off-angle sun. But I'm sharing this because of the unusual crest that shows in this frame. I assume it is a sign of some agitation, although it might be that the breeze was from his back. In any case, I backed off, and after a bit of a wait, surprised that the bird stayed put, I was able to get a better viewpoint as described yesterday. I did a Google search for Pinnated Bittern images, and the only one that shows something similar was on a postage stamp from Guyana.

D7200, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 1600, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual.

[David Salem]

What a great looking species of Bittern these are. Nice pose with the raised head feathers and I like the colors and feather patterns. The image looks a bit soft as presented and I think it has a green cast too. I did some tonal adjustments and sharpened a bit more. See what you think.

[gail bisson]

I love this! Prefer it to your previous post.
Dave has really improved the image with the sharpening.
Excellent feather detail and I like the BG of foliage.
Very nice,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Dave. I felt there was something lacking in this image, but couldn't put my finger on it. I attributed it to having been philtered through phragmites. Your combination of interventions really helped. I'll see if I can replicate them. I can see the color balance and sharpening adjustments. Did you add black to the neutrals, or use Curves to hold down the whites while boosting contrast in mid-tones, or what? Thanks for taking the time.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Neat looking bird, a wild looking Bittern with Tiger stripes. Thank you for sharing, Bill.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I always love seeing images of this species. Good comp, and I like the BG offering some hint of habitat. The tongue hanging out to the opposite side is a bit of a humourous touch. I'm OK with the angled light. I also like what Dave has done.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Having read your intro Bill I too thought there was perhaps some OOF foliage responsible for a slight softness. The repost is great I haven't seen one of these but I get the impression the contrast may be a little high, it all looks a bit "in my face".

[Bill Dix]

I've taken a stab at a repost, based on David's comments above. I took out some of the green cast, significantly sharpened, and downloaded my free copy of the Nik suite for an attempt at Tonal Contrast (mostly in the midtones). This is somewhat different from David's version: I didn't take out as much of the yellow on the bird, and I didn't boost the contrast on the background. In any case, it's a definite improvement over the OP. Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

[David Salem]

Looks great Bill. Your version is probably more accurate as you were there but all I did was move the level slider to the right a bit on the black side, keep the whites the same, and sharpen it. As with your repost, it does make a big difference from the original post. TFS