Tri-color Heron

[James Boland]

I am posting yet another entry from The St. Augustine Alligator Farm Workshop held by Alfred and Fabs. It was a magical place at the time we attended. One of the main thoughts for the workshop was background composition. For this photo that seemed to work really well with the head shot of the bird.

Details:

Canon EOS 50D; EF500 f/4 IS USM lens; no flash; metering mode - pattern; shutter speed - 1/160; exposure comp -1/3; ISO 1600 (was set to auto).

Image was cropped a small amount. Topaz noise reduction.

Jim

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the head angle and soft light and would sharpen the bird some more. You could also apply NR on the BG.

[Alfred Forns]

Not bad for a noise 50D :) Jim you could select the bg and go over for another pass with Topaz ... not bad at all as presented !!! For setting the Auto ISO you might want to keep it a 800 max then increase manually if needed In this instance there was not much choice, only way to go.

I like how you set up for the bg and waited on the bird Not much more to do here Sweet image !!!

[Gus Cobos]

Hi James,
You have a good head angle and clear sharp eye, I like the color rendition on the bird...the background could use a low level pass of noise reduction...I like it...good show...:cool:

[Harold Davis]

awesome suggestions above. would love to see the finished product if you implement the plan!!

[Christopher Miller]

Very nice image, Jim. I like the head angle and the sharp eye. Just follow the suggestions already given and you'll have a winner!

[Lance Peters]

Hi James - great advice above - some quick changes for you.