I always find it fascinating the curiosity of some birds. I was sitting on the ground at Lake Morton in Lakeland, Florida when this Great Blue Heron walked up to check me out. I must not have looked threatening because the bird was at ease walking around me as I sat on the ground, but then maybe judging from my appearance, overweight and old, it knew I could not move fast. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.
Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED, camera and lens supported by a monopod
1/1250 F/8 Matrix Metering EV +1 1/3 ISO 1600 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 330mm
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2020 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation
Last edited by Joseph Przybyla; 05-09-2020 at 08:20 AM.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
I trust the moderators won't mind. I worked up another version of this image I like to post to see which you like best. This is pretty much as it came out of the camera with processing.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
The curve in the neck, flying feathers and down the barrel gaze work well. I slightly prefer the second image, mainly because of the background and the flying feathers.
A bit more dof for the bill would be nice, but a real challenge since even f/8 wasn't enough. If you had the time, a shot or two focused on the nostril area would have moved the DOF a bit more forward, while still allowing the eyes to be sharp.
Randy
Last edited by Randy Stout; 05-09-2020 at 09:48 AM.
These guys really look like sock puppets from that angle! Enough variation in the BG to make it interesting. Sharp on the eyes - where it needs to be. I prefer the second post, it has a better flow to the comp IMO.
Very inquisitive. The second post for me too which also gives a bit more detail in the white on the top of the head.
It really is a challenge to get the DOF in the right place for these close portraits.
Very inquisitive. The second post for me too which also gives a bit more detail in the white on the top of the head.
It really is a challenge to get the DOF in the right place for these close portraits.
Hi Colin, thanks for viewing and commenting. At F/8 at the distance photographed the depth of field was about 2.5 inches. The bill is about 5 inches long, so I focused on the eye area which needs to be in focus. Impossible to get everything in focus no matter the aperture.
Joe Przybyla
"Sometimes I do get to places just as God is ready to have somebody click the shutter"... Ansel Adams
Investigating...
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Originally Posted by Colin Driscoll
