white-faced Heron stare

[Paul Burdett]

I know the shadows and foreground may not appeal to some, but I was happy to get this pose. Cheers.

D500/500PF, 1/4000th sec, iso2500, manual mode HH.

[David Roach]

Sweet stare down and I actually like the FG (What are those projections). Uneven light handled well. Seems like those claws have dug in to keep from going airborne. Love the pose. TFS

ps
Would love to see this species some day.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi David. Thanks again for your much valued input. The "projections" are mangrove seedlings at low tide. These Herons are very common here, but I usually go to this location to photograph Ospreys...trying for the "bucket list shot" of one diving towards me, talons out catching a fish. So far I've only got them side on.
Would love to visit Florida one day...you have plenty of never seen before birds too. Cheers.

[Arthur Morris]

I love the bird and the post and it looks sharp. The image looks much too bright and contrasty. I brought the JEPG into Photoshop and the whites on the face and the legs are totally toasted. I tried but failed to create a screen capture :)

I do not like the foreground and I do no like the BKGR. Much lower might have been better.

As you like this one, I would start over. Send me the RAW file via a large file server and I will have a go at it.

Much love, a

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Artie. Thanks so much for the feedback. Yes I did worry a tad about the whites on the face, but as they were less than 255 I thought it would be ok. Whites on the legs? Not sure where you refer to here. Unfortunately this location is a viewing platform overlooking the water, so not possible to get lower (but you've now got me thinking about an alternative way to get down there. Even at low tide I may sink into the mud! lol.)
Thank you for offering to work on the raw file...I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. I've never sent one before, so will look into it.
Thanks Artie.

Update: File transferred via "WeTransfer".

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Paul, great eye contact, and I like the outspread wings. The Heron is sharp. This angle would work without the busy FG and agree lower would have maybe achieved a cleaner BG.

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Stu. Thanks so much for the feedback. Much appreciated.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for sending the NEF file. It presents a good learning opp. RawDigger shows that the highlights on the face are irretrievably over-exposed -- see the rosy red areas ... In your OP you wrote The EXIF in Photo Mechanic and Capture One show Aperture Priority with +2 stops EC ... In a situation like this, you should never be in Av and if you were, +2 was way too much. Way. In addition, the ISO was much too high for the situation. The legs should not have been toasted so they are on you ...

with love, artie

s: If anyone would like info on RawDigger please contact me via e-mail.

[Arthur Morris]

That said, I was able to salvage the image after a Capture One conversion and 20 minutes in Photoshop. WDYT?

with love, artie

ps:it needed 2.3 degrees rotation and a ton of background clean-up ... All as detailed in Digital Basics II.

[Arthur Morris]

The clean-up in your OP was pretty good. I got rid of the junk at the base of the bill on our left.

a

[Paul Burdett]

Hi Artie. Thank you for the info and your re processing of the image...looks good and much appreciated, and yes, a learning opportunity. I downloaded RawDigger...it's going to be a good tool for me. I opened the raw file in RD and note that it shows manual mode not Aperture priority (as does the file info in Photoshop), so I'm puzzled why PM and C1 would show Aperture priority. I definitely shot in manual mode...haven't used AP for a while now...with the aim to better myself with exposure. Now I need to study the RD manual. Cheers.