Great Egret #3

[WIlliam Maroldo]

SonyA700~Sony70-400G@400mm~ISO640~F8~1/1600sec~manual exposure~8-26-2009~Brays Bayou, Houston, Texas
CS4/Topaz Adjust3(small detail preset)/Topaz Clean2
Great Egret displaying in the bayou. Note: raised lower neck feathers, upraised neck, outstretched wings. I might also mention that this is not a mating disply, but territorial.
comments and critique welcomed, regards~Bill

[Nick Palmieri]

I love the Egret pose and it appears the exposure on the bird is right on, the reflection is also very nice. I am debating the effect...for my liking it may be a bit distracting...of course that is just my opinion...

[denise ippolito]

Bill, I like the pose w/ the wing display. Plenty of detail in the wings also! I like the environment/behavior image. Am I seeing some noise in the water? Nice composition also.

[Dave Mills]

Hi Bill, Nice comp with good exposure. I think the filter technique you are using works best on closeup and HK images. Due to the filter creating noise it shows up more when you are doing subjects that have alot of environment in the image...

[Cindy Cone]

I love the pose here, Bill and it's a great composition. I think the effects here would work very well printed on some kind of art paper.

[Patti Edens]

I have really enjoyed seeing this behavior in your shots. Very interesting. If I ever see it, now I'll know what is going on.

[Christopher Miller]

Hi Bill. Very beautiful pose. I like the details brought out by the topaz effect on the bird and water, but it made the BG look rather noisy. Might want to try applying the effect to just the bird and water.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Thanks everyone! The observation made Dave and Christopher are quite valid, and although I don't agree that the technique is useful for only HK and close-ups, noise is a problem I failed to address in this image, as I had in many previous images. Generally I try to minimize noise by overexposure (one reason HK works so well), but if it is present(and amplified by Topaz) I often do what Christopher suggested. I apply the effects and then using a history brush to remove noise from the background. Forgot this time. regards~Bill

[Cheryl Slechta]

Amazing image, Bill. I've never seen this display before so it's exciting to see it here.:)