White faced Heron

[Paul Burdett]

Another image taken during our few days away. Taken early morning at a small wooden lookout, before heading back to our room for breakfast. Cheers.

D500/500PF, 1/2000th sec, f5.6, iso1600, manual mode HH.

[Brian Sump]

Paul, this is beautiful. It showcases the potential of the D500/500PF combo and your bif skills as well.

I have really nothing to pick on in terms of the Heron. Detail is fantastic and it looks exposed beautifully. HA might be a touch away but not a huge deal on this one, for me anyway.

My only rec would be to potentially blend the black streaks (shadows in the trees) coming down in front of the bird and maybe blend the brighter green one just below the beak.

Fantastic frame, well done!

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Brian. Thanks so much for the kind feedback...it's much appreciated. You have a very keen eye in terms of those darker streaks. Actually there were quite a few of them, which I "fixed" in PS using a trick I picked up from a tutorial somewhere: I selected the spot healing brush tool and set the mode to lighten. With the brush size set to a little bigger than the darker area you single click over that area and it lightens it...seems to have worked well here, but I will go back and apply your suggestions. Cheers!

[gail bisson]

Great wing position and sharp.
Agree with Brian but am Ok if you leave blacks streaks in the image. I don't find they pull my eye away,
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Paul:

Agree with Brian and Gail overall. Streaks don't bother me here, are soft enough. Like the full up wings, tucked neck and uplifted bill, streamlined feet.

Cheers

Randy

[Bill Dix]

Great flight position, with full wing extension, and trailing feet. I don't find the streaks very troublesome. I do find the entire BG to be a bit blotchy, between the brightest and darkest areas, but that's personal taste. Another tool I have sometimes used: pick a BG color somewhere in between the darkest and lightest yellow-greens, then use the paintbrush with a low opacity and largish diameter to paint over some of the brightest areas (BG only, of course), and see if you like it. All in all this is a very handsome frame of a handsome heron.

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks again Gail, Randy & Bill.
Bill: will give that a go...cheers!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Paul quite a striking image set against a very vibrant BKG, it works. Going a tad warmer and reducing the magenta a touch helps the subject, likewise the blue to a degree in the wings. There is some lovely detail in the darker plumage you capture, just needs some teasing out. There are numerous things you can do to 'ease' on the BKG, but I might go for a bit more vibrance and tweak the Hue, get some red/orage in there to give a bit more life, I feel it's a bit apple green as it stands, but the image concept needs punch.

TFS
Steve

[Arthur Morris]

As noted above, this is a great flight image with a superb wing position. The colors look perfect to me as presented. I see no need at all to tweak any of them "even a bit."

with love, a

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Steve and Artie.
Steve: I appreciate your take on this and your suggestions, which I'll try out and see if I like them. Cheers.
Artie: I really appreciate your kind feedback.

[Steve Kaluski]

Steve: I appreciate your take on this and your suggestions, which I'll try out and see if I like them. Cheers.

Hi Paul, I'm just adding in some suggestions, having applied them, I think they work, but it's all a matter of personal tastes.

I meant to say Paul, you might find it easier to do any cloning work on a separate BKG layer and then use a layer mask to 'reveal it', may help for the future.

[Dorian Anderson]

No shadows for the win! The lighting and pose are really nice, and the exposure and details looks great. Head angle isn't the most engaging, but the wide eye adds interest in this case. My only issue is the uneven BG. You can smooth it with cloning as others have suggested, but that's a bit heavy handed for my tastes.

[arash_hazeghi]

head angle is pretty good, I don't see any issues with it. I wish the BG was a bit less contrasty and dimmer. it's always a challenge shooting against contrasty varied BGs which draw the viewer's eye, other than that pretty good

TFS

[Paul Burdett]

Thanks Steve, Dorian & Arash...feedback much appreciated as always.