Yellow Crowned Night Heron in Hilton Head

[Warren Spreng]

Another situation where the bird just wasn't in the right setting for a great shot, so I settled for a portrait since try as I might I just could not get happy with a full shot due to just too much "stuff" at his feet, above his head, in the BG, etc, etc. So posting this because this was a "Lifer" for me. Evidently they are not rare but tend to be very inconspicuous unlike some of the other Herons like the Great Blue, Tri-color, etc. I was hiking in a preserve and was just walking around a bend in a path by a lagoon and I caught sight of this one in a very overgrown area so I had to climb through quite a bit of foliage and shoot through gaps in the branches and leaves. Always fun to see a new bird! Canon 7D II, Tamron 150-600mm, HH, 1/320, f/6.3, ISO800. Increased Highlights and whites in LR, cropped in PS CC, slight increase in Vibrance. Cloned off a bit of feathers hanging from the tip of the bill.

[Glennie Passier]

Warren, I love how prolific you have become since your retirement! By the number (and quality) of your posts, you seem to be having a good time.

The things we do to get a shot. I have never seen a heron posing in a clean BG. It must be a trait of theirs. I like this image very much, and I don't think there is anything I would change. Well done!

[Warren Spreng]

Warren, I love how prolific you have become since your retirement! By the number (and quality) of your posts, you seem to be having a good time.

The things we do to get a shot. I have never seen a heron posing in a clean BG. It must be a trait of theirs. I like this image very much, and I don't think there is anything I would change. Well done!

Thanks Glennie! Yes, retirement adds a tremendous amount of time for one to enjoy their hobbies! And this is only one of my hobbies! It also helped to take a 3 week trip to other areas of the country, in the spring, so I could chase more birds! Next week I'm meeting my brother and we are going up to Oak Harbor, OH where the Warblerfest is taking place. Hopefully many more birds to post soon!!

[Andrew Harrell]

Warren, I agree with Glennie, nothing to do here - just a wonderful shot. I just got my Tamron 150-600mm for my Sony and I'm looking forward to getting to use it (300mm was all I had before, meaning I was doing quite a bit of cropping). Your photos with this lens look great!!

AP

[Warren Spreng]

Warren, I agree with Glennie, nothing to do here - just a wonderful shot. I just got my Tamron 150-600mm for my Sony and I'm looking forward to getting to use it (300mm was all I had before, meaning I was doing quite a bit of cropping). Your photos with this lens look great!!

AP

Thanks Andrew! I hope you enjoy the lens as much as I have! Looking forward to your first shot with it.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Nice Shot with Clean background. I love the detail in the feather as well. Nice job.

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous, wonderful detail and great BG -- stalking pays off! I love the complex reflection in the eye.

I'm wondering how it would compare to first increase Exposure, before Highlights. Normally that slider goes left. Then balance the darks if needed by pulling Blacks left. Whites can go right if needed to stretch out the tonalities a little. I don't see anything wrong with the tonalities here, though, but exploring tonal tweaking is always worthwhile.

I'm wondering about an alternate crop with a little off the bottom and more on the right. Not to criticize the one you chose, just another possibility.

Hoping to see more!!

[Warren Spreng]

Nice Shot with Clean background. I love the detail in the feather as well. Nice job.

Thanks Krishna!

[Warren Spreng]

Gorgeous, wonderful detail and great BG -- stalking pays off! I love the complex reflection in the eye.

I'm wondering how it would compare to first increase Exposure, before Highlights. Normally that slider goes left. Then balance the darks if needed by pulling Blacks left. Whites can go right if needed to stretch out the tonalities a little. I don't see anything wrong with the tonalities here, though, but exploring tonal tweaking is always worthwhile.

I'm wondering about an alternate crop with a little off the bottom and more on the right. Not to criticize the one you chose, just another possibility.

Hoping to see more!!

Thanks Diane! Good thoughts, I can't remember if I increased exposure first and then actually reduced highlights after that. I'll see if I can repeat my steps and check it out. I zoomed in on the eye, the reflection is the mass of undergrowth I was stepping through and you can see a lighter area in the middle and that is my Big Pocket vest I was wearing!

[Diane Miller]

If you're using LR (as opposed to ACR) you can check the History (left panels in Develop module) to see the order in which you did the steps and the parameters.

[Warren Spreng]

If you're using LR (as opposed to ACR) you can check the History (left panels in Develop module) to see the order in which you did the steps and the parameters.

Learn something new every day! Actually I guess I realized this, I have just never reviewed it much! For this one all I did in LR was move the highlights and whites all the way to the left and then did the rest of the processing in PS CC. I did not touch exposure so all adjustments were with curves and levels.

[Diane Miller]

Your results look great, so I'm not criticizing them, but I generally wouldn't move the Whites left, as that can only bring them down to gray. (Highlights left is the right way to tame bright tones, along with Exposure left.) But every image is handled behind the scenes a little differently in how much the sliders do, according to the tonalities in the image. In one image, Whites left might turn a lot of area gray, but in another it may barely have an impact.

[Warren Spreng]

Your results look great, so I'm not criticizing them, but I generally wouldn't move the Whites left, as that can only bring them down to gray. (Highlights left is the right way to tame bright tones, along with Exposure left.) But every image is handled behind the scenes a little differently in how much the sliders do, according to the tonalities in the image. In one image, Whites left might turn a lot of area gray, but in another it may barely have an impact.

Good suggestions to tame those bright whites, I'll try that direction as well. Appreciate the input!

[Adhika Lie]

Killer shot, Warren! What is special to me about this picture is the sharp bill tip. I think 80% of my eye sharp shots do not have acceptably sharp bill tip.

PS. I have never seen this bird before so this shot makes me a little bit envious as I was in Savannah three weeks ago and was debating if I should head to Hilton Head. I decided to go to Tybee Island instead but probably I should've gone to Hilton Head.

[Warren Spreng]

Killer shot, Warren! What is special to me about this picture is the sharp bill tip. I think 80% of my eye sharp shots do not have acceptably sharp bill tip.

PS. I have never seen this bird before so this shot makes me a little bit envious as I was in Savannah three weeks ago and was debating if I should head to Hilton Head. I decided to go to Tybee Island instead but probably I should've gone to Hilton Head.

Thanks Adhika! If you go back to the area it is the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. It has bogs, wetlands, wildflower fields, many different settings for different species. Catching this guy was pure luck and one of those "Saw him out of the corner of my eye.." moments that those of us have that are actually looking for special things!