Black Headed Heron

[Dudley Watson]

Photographed at nature reserve in suburbs of Johannesburg. Cloned out some branches around the lower bird
D3
SS 1/3200
F 7.1
Exp Comp -2/3
500 mm f4
Handheld

[Robert Amoruso]

Dudley,

Nice head angle on the right bird and the red eye is killer. Image appears a bit noisy. You did not mention the ISO but it appears you have luminance noise in the sky.

[Bill Jobes]

Love the pose of the birds, Dudley. Exposure is spot on. You may wish to try subduing some of the sky noise.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dudley, good interaction between the two, and I like the defensive pose of the heron on the right. Apart from the noise, this image seems to have a cyan cast.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Agree with Stu..looks like there is a color cast. Loved that bird on the right. Terrific capture of the plumage and the red eye engages the viewer instantly.

[Per-Gunnar Ostby]

I love the the bird on the right - he looks aghast at what the other is doing

[Dudley Watson]

Thanks for the very useful input Firstly I have corrected the Cyan cast. The noise reduction puzzles me as the ISO was 720 but I have been using Smart Sharpen (CS5). I notice that this on fine fur ,feathers or water droplets seems to oversharpen.
I attach revised image for information.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Colours look better on the repost. Not much to do about the vegetation at the spot they choose to nest, but your vantage point gave you a clear enough view. Light seems like it was high and harsh, but you've dealt with it best you could. Good comp, and yes the eye is most engaging. I only wish for less merger between lower mandible and neck feathers.