This American Bittern had himself really tucked in the marsh grasses. Fortunately he gave me a chance at finding one angle where he (or she) did not have grasses crossing his face, yet still have a pleasing sun angle. I used the 2x teleconverter to get in close and eliminate as much of the grasses as I could. There was one bright sprig (not touching the bird) that I quick masked out of the frame.
Thank you for looking and for your comments.
1/1250, f10, ISO800
Canon 1Dmk4, 500 f4 + 2x + car as blind + blubb
Excellent Bittern photo, as good as I have seen of this species.
Your Usual Topnotch IQ, I like the grass in the FG, and the overall light and tone.
Superb.
Very well captured. Having this species surrounded by grasses is perfect and how lucky that you had a clear view of the face. The lines of the grasses complement the lines of the bittern and all the shades of browns are lovely.
Very nice capture.
Do you have extra canvas at the bottom? If it were mine, I would leave room for "virtual feet".
if you don't have it on the captured image, and you have CS5, consider extending the canvas and doing "content aware" fill. You'll be surprised at its ability to create grass out of nothing.
Regards
Don
Last edited by Don Nelson; 01-12-2012 at 02:15 AM.
Hi Grace,
Really nice light and I like how the lines of the grasses follow the lines of the bittern. Would like a titch more room on the bottom if you have it but not a deal breaker,
Gail
Great find and nice job working to get a good angle!
Habitat adds a nice touch without being at all distracting IMO ... not always easy to accomplish.
Very nice comp with exception that I also would like a bit more room at the bottom if you have it.
Looks like you had some nice warm light and you did a great job on the exposure (easy to blow the red channel in a situation like this).
But I am seeing a green cast. Hope you don't mind a repost which used a Color Balance adjustment to add some magenta.
See what you think ... I'm sure you can do a better job with the RAW file if you agree.
Awesome IQ on this one. They sure are tough to capture out in the open like this. I really like the color on Mike's repost. It warmer. I personally don't think you need more room on the bottom for the virtual feet b/c you would just need too much. This one works as it quite well.
Thanks everyone. I have a little more at the bottom, lost it when I straightened the image. I need to work much harder at getting my images in camera level. And Mike, great catch on the color cast....you are correct and I will adjust.
I love your OP but even more with the color cast correction that Mike did. Wonderful image that nicely features the habitat but highlights the bird (a hard balance to find with a bittern!). Awesome light, IQ and pose. Excellent job, Grace!!
Hiding in plain sight
Reply With Quote
