I captured this image at the rookery in the alligator breeding pond at Gatorland, Orlando, Florida. This image is from 2017, I didn't make it to Gatorland last year for various reasons but will be getting seasons passes this week for Dottie and I. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.
Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/2000 F/6.3 Matrix Metering EV +1/3 ISO 900 Auto 1 WB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC, Photoshop CC 2019 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation, normally I try to stay away from a square crop but in this case it gave me what I wanted
P.S. I guess I could have had more separation between the bird and background but it was not possible. Most things a very close at the rookery in Gatorland.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Sweet head shot. You might try taking some BLUE out of the WHITEs.
with love, artie
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Sweet head shot. You might try taking some BLUE out of the WHITEs.
with love, artie
Thanks Artie, I missed that. I always struggle to see a blue cast. I think I have tracked it down to the glasses I were when working at the computer. The poly-carbonate lens have a yellow tint and if I do not check the white values blue is normally hiding there. Thank you for viewing and commenting. Here is a repost with a fix.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Nice details and a super cool Cattle Egret. Artie was spot on. The bird had a strong blue cast. Your repost fixed that but the whites are gray. I would go into selective color and try and lower the blacks in the whites and see if that helps to get some nice white whites.
A really nice portrait Joe, gotta love the crazy hair. RP is a definite improvement, but it may well be worth an extra go with Isaacs suggestion. Good call with the DoF and the square crop works well here
Very nice and agree with above advice- especially with Isaac suggesting to take the black out of the whites.
I like the square crop but could see it as a true portrait crop.
Gail
Thanks everyone for viewing, commenting and suggesting improvements. Very much appreciated.
I went back to the master file and used your suggestions to improve the image. I reduced the saturation in the whites to eliminate the blue cast from the bird being in the shadows. I reduced the black point in the image as Isaac suggested and I raised the white point to make the feathers more white. Here is a repost.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams