GREAT BLUE HERON

[gary ellwein]

Clear early AM, Nikon D3s, Nikkor 600mm, 1.4TC, iso 800, 1/3200, tripod. A great morning sitting in the mud. This individual also appears to be enjoying the day

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Gary,

Love the framing and birds position in the image. Just look at all those feathers, a preening nightmare . The main feedback would be sharpness, but at 840MM not bad. There is a nice thread in the Education forum on tripod techniques, easy and technical read. Whites look a little hot in the neck area but could be me, the monitor and it is bed time, let's see what others say. Nice job getting dirty and being patient, these are key field techniques - well done.

[gary ellwein]

Jeff, thanks for the critique. You zeroed in on the weak points. The crop was more than I like at approx. 60%. I'm working on my technique with the 600mm. The day was special with Great and Snowy Egrets, Pelicans, Lesser Yellow Legs, Least Sandpipers and a number of duck species in abundance.

Gary

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Gary, I had written a critique for this image but must have hit "back" instead of "submit reply" (senior moment). I hope I can remember what I said, but it would probably have been this:

I like the pose and head angle, although fully extended wings would have been stronger. It does look like the bird is dancing, which is cool! I'm surprised at the lack of detail given the equipment and tripod use. One thing that robs the image of detail is the contrast, seems very contrasty to me. The red channel is clipped in the peak whites, with the green channel not far behind. I think the detail may actually be in the original file, maybe you just need to do more sharpening and control of the contrast. You have a good eye for the capture, just need to start thinking more about the background and exposure.