BLUE HERON

[Bob Smith]

This fellow was down the farm ditch from the road when I stopped my truck but instead of flying away it walked toward me then sashayed around in close proximity, giving me an extended opportunity for close-ups, including the reaction when another heron dropped in out of the sky. Canon 7 D II,Sigma 150-600mm EX DG OS Contemporary, ISO 1000, f/.6.3, 1/800, HH

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[Tim Foltz]

Hi Bob, nice image with a few critiques, looks a bit on the yellow side overall, wish the HA was a bit more towards you (but it's out of your control) and I would clone out the
twig on the bottom right and the black line on its beak.

-Tim

[Bob Smith]

Thanks for your review Tim. Actually the twig you mention extended right across the bird and out the top edge of the image before I cloned it away. I wrestled with whether to remove the whole twig and went with it as presented but I get your POV. So far I have gone with a conscious decision not to do bill and beak clean-up cloning but your advice has got me thinking about it. I do like the result of taking that little black line near the tip away.

[Arthur Morris]

A nice young bird with a good EXP and sharp. Needed a bit more head turn toward you and I could do without the stick. The latter is an easy fix if you wish. with love, artie

[Bob Smith]

A nice young bird with a good EXP and sharp. Needed a bit more head turn toward you and I could do without the stick. The latter is an easy fix if you wish. with love, artie

Thank you Arthur. I've done the suggested clean-up with the RP. I did consider removing the whole of the stick/stalk when I cloned it off the bird but decided then to leave it in. Now, having moved it, I do like the cleaner version. I also did the little black mark on the bill but when I looked at the white markings under the magnifier I could see that those are actually gouges on the surface veneer. So to me that makes them part of the bird ( battle scars maybe ) rather than just sludge so I didn't touch them. I have an eagle with a huge purple/pink healing injury on it's beak that I still haven't decided how to deal with , although I'm leaning towards leaving it in place.