A dispute between egrets on Marco, Island. The upper bird was close, but just missed getting his claws around the lower bird's neck. i wish I had a flash to combat the shadows. C&C welcome.
D3s
Sigma 150-500
500mm
f/7.1
1/4000
-.33 ev
H/H
ISO 640
Cropped vertical
Sharpened in Aperture
The fight sounds very serious. I wonder what might have happened if the upper bird had gotten the other's neck?
Terrific action shot.
Although the whites are quite bright I think the exposure is very well done for the actions and bright light. If you use CS4 or similiar using S/H it may be possible to open the shadows a bit and bring down the whites also for a bit more detail.
Nice job, Tom. This is a wonderful behavioral shot. Sharpness and DOF are good. Obviously in this situation, HA can't be first priority, but the fact that the faces are turned slightly away hasn't hurt it too badly. I would say the only real issue is the lighting on the faces of the birds. Possibly a bit of selective lightening would work (I'm not very good with that).
Dave and Ian, thank you for the comments. You are right the shadows are problematic. I tried to reduce the shadows in Aperture (I am not Photoshop or Lightroom skilled) and I didn't like the look it rendered. I will need a flash next time. Thanks again.
What a beautiful image, Thomas! The exposure of the whites and the action freeze are both superb. I noticed you weren't happy with the shadows on the two birds so I started with a shadow/highlight adjustment and then tweaked it with Viveza by bringing up the shadows a little more and reducing their blue tint (easier on the top bird than the bottom).
I also cloned out the top area and the spot that's on the upper 1/3 left side so the image would be more cohesive with the blues and the stunning whites. Finally, I added a large omni spotlight and then pulled it back a bit on the bright whites so the outer edges would take on a darker tone pulling the viewer's eye more to the spot where all the action is.
These are just some steps for you to consider incorporating. All in all you have one gorgeous image here!
Hi Tom. I was going to comment on the shading earlier, but I now see it has been covered. Keeping both birds in focus, by DOF control, isn't an easy task but you were up to it! All in all it is a very good image, except for one thing.
The high contrast light, and its direction, were problematic (as you stated), and I don't think there is a satisfactory post processing solution; there is no way make shadowed parts look like they are not in shadow, even if detail has been restored to some degree. Use of a flash probably wouldn't have worked for several reasons. If you use an appropriately high shutter-speed to catch the action, the effect of the flash would be negligible. Unless the flash is the main light source, use of slower sync speeds may freeze the motion, but there very well may be ghosting. Use of a flash over water can cause an un-natural glare on the waters surface. If there is any parts of the bird, such as a wing, between the flash and a birds body, you will have shadows there.
Fortunately snowys are going into the breeding season and they fight alot! You should be able to find some on a cloudy or overcast day, or early or late with a better light angle. regards~Bill
Last edited by WIlliam Maroldo; 02-01-2011 at 11:01 PM.
Bill, you bring up excellent points with regard to flash usage. I just bought an external flash and am going to start to learn to use it. I am pretty new to all this and have much to learn and I appreciate all who take the time to teach here on this forum.
As for the snowys going into breeding season, it is a bit early here in Colorado for that
However, I am headed to Florida in a few weeks and hopefully I get another chance.
Snowy Egret Dispute
Posting Permissions
