GBH on Ice #2
D90; 80-400 VR @ 250mm. ISO 800. f/6.3 @ 1/320s. Matrix metering @ -0.3 EV. HH. Cropped about 25%.
Same heron as the one posted the other day; different angle and light. What lingering sun there was had dropped behind the trees, so the lighting was a little flat. Image doesn't seem quite as crisp as I might have expected. C&C appreciated as always.
He looks good with that foot raised, ready to try his footing. i like the portrait crop. I think I'd like to see the background and the bird a bit less contrasty.
Bill, agree with your critique was it a tad underexposed. You did well with falling light, was flash as option?
Thanks Wendell and Jeff. Yes, Jeff, flash probably would have been an option had I been packing it. My wife tells me that 15 minutes before this was shot, while I was off trying to capture the nuthatches, this guy was in beautiful late afternoon sun. Can't be everywhere at once.
Hi Bill - like the pose, good HA and eye contact - looks just a tad contrasty on my screen.
Am i seeing a little bit of blue fringing around the top of the head??
Thanks all. I did boost the contrast a bit, thinking the image looked flat. Maybe I overdid it. I see the blue line at the head. It shows up on the original RAW file; I don't know if it's the bird or something alien.
agree with the points above. main one being a little underexposed. might be a little tight in the frame for my tastes. would add some more space all around. love the raised foot!!
Great pose and HA. Did well to get this capture Bill. Techs mentioned.
Hi Bill The processing looks a little funny? ... look at the blue tones !! Excellent pose and bg
Hi Alfred. I'm not sure what you're seeing. I did boost the saturation of the bg to bring up the gold color, but I don't recall altering the bird other than to boost the contrast and sharpen. I may have tweaked the exposure and fill light when I brought it in from RAW, but it doesn't look much different from the RAW file.
An impressive looking bird, especially with all those quills/plumes. (Is this bird in breeding plummage).
Love the pose. I'm also getting very strong blues.
Thanks Mark. The Great Blue Herons sport those plumes year-round, although this fellow does seem to have an ample share. They are apparently breeding now in Florida, but I think it's too early for them here in New Jersey, so I'm guessing this is not breeding plumage.Originally Posted by Mark Young
Thank you David, and others who noted the blue tones. Here's a repost where I set a white point on the cheek, and also reduced the contrast by 15 points. Not a dramatic difference, but I do agree that both changes are improvements. Seen side by side, I do notice a blue cast in the whites of the OP. Thanks for pointing it out.
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