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Thread: Reddish Egret White Morph Strikes a Pose

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    Default Reddish Egret White Morph Strikes a Pose

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    Canon 7D
    500mm f/4
    Gitzo 3530LS/full Wimberley head
    Standing in water.

    1/1600 sec
    f/8.0
    ISO 400

    Took this in Feb out with James Shadle on the Alafia Banks, Tampa. Just getting around to properly processing many of these pics. Thought this egret looked a bit like a punk rocker in this pose.
    The light was still quite strong though it was nearing end of day. Wish it had been softer. This bird was bright white of course, but am I ok on the whites here? I've looked at it so long I can't tell anymore.
    NR and sharpening. Slight darkening of bill. Thought it called for a fairly tight crop (which is about 30-40% of original size).
    Looking forward to comments and critiques. I hope you like it!

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    You're at sunny sixteen and also the shadow confirms that the light was powerful. Your whites look ok (I'm not on my calibrated monitor). I measure them rather than rely on my eye. I feel that the crop is tight and if you loosened it up a little, you'd loose less detail and still have a nicly composed image. I do like the head gear!

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    Thanks for your comments, Grace. What do you think of this looser crop?

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    ChasMcRae
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    The head and neck feathers make this image for me. It seems you handled the whites well .

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    This is a very dramatic pic. I think it should be presented with drama.
    Forgive an old guy putting in his 2 cents, but I tried an alternate version. Perhaps I went too far, but what do you think? I also would like to see more room around the subject. I also tend to over crop... I have to restrain myself!

    But I do like this pic.

    M.

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    Nico Steenberg
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    Great detail in those whites !! I like the pose and pose and the DOF adds !

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    Thanks Mitch and Charles. Mitch, I appreciate the rework. It hits me at first as being a bit too contrasty, but you may be onto something. Maybe somewhere between yours and mine would be best? Will be interested to see what others think.

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    Melissa,

    Looking at it again, I think I would reduce the contrast of the BG, but leave it in the forground...

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    Punk do for sure It also looked a bit tight to me so I prefer your repost and might try a bit less sharpening. It's an unusual pose and I like it.

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    Excellent Melissa, feathers do add very nicely. I like Mitch's add contrast, works very nicely IMO but would try something in between the two.

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    Thanks for the suggestions, all. Here is a repost with more contrast as Mitch suggested. Hope that's an improvement.

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    Your last repost nails it for me Melissa...love the pose and look of this guy with the spiky plumage!
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Hi Melissa,

    I like your post. A little bit more dramatic, but still soft. A good balance.

    Mitch

    p.s. there is no final "correct" presentation. AA(Ansel Adams) said it best... The negative (some of us old guys remember what they were) was the musical score, and the print was the performance. A musical score can be performed beautifully in any number of ways...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mitch Carucci View Post

    p.s. there is no final "correct" presentation. AA(Ansel Adams) said it best... The negative (some of us old guys remember what they were) was the musical score, and the print was the performance. A musical score can be performed beautifully in any number of ways...
    I love that Ansel Adams thought so much, Mitch, thanks for sharing it!

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    Excellent exposure on the whites. I love the pose you captured. Well done.

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    Beautiful image Melissa. I like the pose and your last repost.

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    Melissa, excellent pose and whites. I like the contrast in your OP. But would like to see some room above the bird. I think you have enough space below in the OP for the virtual legs and some. Adding more there does not add to the image IMO. IQ is excellent. To me, it looks a tad oversharpened though. With such strong lines in the breeding plumage and angled light, I dont think you'll need any additional sharpening there. In such cases, it is better to just to selective sharpening on certain areas and leave out areas that will look oversharpened.

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    Thanks much Kaustubh. I am reposting with more room above, less below, and NO sharpening at all this time. I think you're right, I really didn't need any (a rare case for my pics!). Please let me know what you think.

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    If mine, I wouldn't add that much at the top.....since the bird is looking down. Something between the two would be my choice. On the sharpnesss front, much much better.

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    Okey doke, one last try (I'm nothing if not determined to get this right!). Thanks again Kaustubh for your fine eye and suggestions.

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    yes, this crop is what is like the most.

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