Yellow-Crown Night-Heron Repost

Gallery: AvianPosted May 16, 201097 views11 comments

As promised I'm posting the before image of a previous post with the name of the bird. Several of you were correct in naming the bird...Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron.

Thanks for all the comments received. I like the suggestion from two people that a larger reflection would have been nice as well as a lower angle of view. I agree, but neither of these were possible as the bank was steep and the pocket the bird was standing in was very small.

Shot early morning D7; F9.0; 1/1000; ISO 250; Crop to 54% of original; Canon 100-400L IS; Gitzo tripod; PP in ACR and CS4 with Nik SW plugins.

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 16, 2010 at 4:03 PM

Dottie, nice photo, I like the detail and crisp color. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Sally King on May 16, 2010 at 4:18 PM

I really like the side view of the bird, in fact I wish it had turned just a tiny bit more for you. Sounds like it was impossible to get all the reflection but did you get at least the eye. Right now that bill reflection hanging into the frame is just a bit distracting to me. Nice colors. I really would love to see one of these birds some day.

Registered on December 2, 2008, 416 Posts, 4450 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on May 16, 2010 at 4:52 PM

I like the pose of the bird and the detail, although a better turn toward you would have been an improvement. There is quite a color difference between the large and small image for some reason. I agree with Sandy about the beak reflection.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on May 16, 2010 at 6:49 PM

Dottie, Sharpness looks good and an interesting pose. I like the look at the occipital plumes from this angle. I too see the color difference in the two versions, esp in the water.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Dottie Short on May 16, 2010 at 6:53 PM

I think I forgot to change to sRGB. I'm surprised that it not a mess!! Dottie

Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on May 16, 2010 at 7:36 PM

Excellent post Dottie, I love the detail and colors in the larger version. Well done!

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on May 16, 2010 at 10:55 PM

Dottie,

I like the colors & tones of the larger version you provided, the smooth water and the visible plumes.

Like I mentioned in your last post, I would have used a shallower dof so that conglomerate in the background would be more out of focus. I like the intent look the night heron has on its prey in this image.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on May 17, 2010 at 1:27 AM

Nice sharpness and intent pose here Dottie, I'd crop a touch more off the top to minimize the rock there.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on May 17, 2010 at 9:08 AM

Dottie, I like the pose and light here. I might clone out the two black dots between the bill and the top of the legs. I see a slight halo along the top of the bill and head--this is easily fixed by sharpening the bird only, or (after the fact) by using a very fine brush to mask out the effects of the sharpening along that edge.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Dottie Short on May 18, 2010 at 5:23 PM

Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments

Comment posted by Dottie Short on May 18, 2010 at 5:29 PM

I cleaned up some dark spots in the water and tried to remove the halo along the heron's bill and the head. I can still see it, therefore I think it is a over sharpening issue. I've just started using Nik sharpening SW and I'll have to figure out how to fix this. Thanks Brian for pointing this out.

Registered on April 12, 2010, 61 Posts, 375 Comments