This Great Blue Heron caught and ate two fish in about 15 minutes. All comments and suggestions welcome. Thanks for looking.
Canon 60D, 300mm f4 L + 1.4x @ 1/1000, f11, ISO 800, HH.
Hi Ron, you have a good basic capture here, but you make it hard on yourself by shooting in harsh sunlight! Noise is a fact of life for many DSLR cameras, and you have quite a bit of it in this image. Isolating the bird (or other subject) from the background is a basic post processing skill that must be mastered in order to take your images to the next level. It is possible to improve upon images that are captured in harsh light, but it is not a reasonable expectation to believe that you can make a great image from such a capture. I made some adjustments to the background and bird - curves on both as well as toning down saturation and running noise reduction (Topaz DeNoise) on the background layer. Also used the dodge tool to lighten the area around the eye and face.
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Kerry, My software editing skills are limited. Indeed, even my software is limited. I plan to move from a dated version of Photo Elements to a new version of Lightroom later this year. I don't have Topaz or any other noise reduction program other than Canon's, but I can see the value from your improvements. I did not think noise would be an issue with an 800 ISO, but I guess when you crop a bit for a close up of a bird, it can become apparent. Thanks for the feedback.
Oh yes, about the lighting. Yes, I sensed it was getting a bit late in the morning, and after failing once again to get the shot I really wanted of a Prothonotory Warbler, I noticed the Heron landed nearby. What else are you going to do, but take advantage of the opportunities as they present themselves? So I shot some Heron images, knowing the light was getting a bit harsh.
Meal time for a Great Blue Heron.
Ronald Zigler thanked for this post
