Reddish Egret

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Greetings. Only the second time I've seen a reddish in California (both at Bolsa Chica). There's a pair entertaining the photographers at the bridge...



D3 300f/2.8 + TC20EIII (600 mm) f/8 1/320 +1.67EV ISO640 HH (resting elbow on railing) Back lit.
Lift & color with Lab mode curves. Topaz Adjust for contrast and slight detail adjustments. Sharpening.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Ian Cassell]

Hi Michael,

I've never seen one of these guys (but would love to). Although I like the high-key look, it seems like some detail is missing (the legs are 'washed-out' looking). Was this a big crop? A bit of brightening on the eye, possibly with the addition of a catchlight, might also help.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Ian,

Thanks for your comments. I think this is a case of trying too hard to pull up the shadows. I was actually happy with a just sharpened version with a small crop, but got carried away with the processing...



Better?

Cheers,

-Michael-

[P-A. Fortin]

Glad to see this pair is still around. I had the chance to see both on my visit at Bolsa on Dec 11th with Kerry Perkins. Definitely the best surprise of my trip. Spectacular bird, with interesting "hunting ritual". Quite different from his cousin I am more familiar with (Great Blue Heron).

I still have to go through my 3000+ images I took during my trip to Southern California, so I'm far from done with my day at Bolsa. However, considering the clouds on that day and the limited reach of my 100-400, I don't think there is any way I'll be able to do any better than your shot

I actually prefer the first image. Although I do like the composition with the reflection of the second one, I prefer the "close-up" of the first one. But that is just a matter of personal taste, I have no technical point to comment on. If I had, I would have to apply it to my own images anyway

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Michael,

Nice image of a beautiful bird. Backlit subjects can suffer from muted color and looks like a low-light day as well but overall not bad. Too bad a tripod was not handy 6ooMM with a shutter of 1/320 can make for soft images, you did a nice job holding on - nice field techniques.The large crop affects the IQ as well. I would keep the post processing simple here, lighten, sharpen and add contrast vis curves and get the color to pop some - like the high-key look - keep em coming Michael.

[nancy hazen]

Great catch! That is one beautiful bird!
Nancy