Green Heron w/fish w/repost

Gallery: AvianPosted October 10, 2010138 views15 comments

Captured this GH while it was watching a young one fishing. I guess the fish looked so good it had to have one as well. There are a few hot spots, mainly the left leg and white breast feathers but I thought it didn't detract too much.

Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated.

Nikon d300 w/sigma 50-500 @ 500mm
f/9
1/640
iso 200
EC -0.3
tripod mounted

Comments

15 comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on October 10, 2010 at 1:19 PM

Doug,
great catch of the day for this heron. I really like the pose with the sheen fish in the beak, the water color and the detail. If this were mine, I would tone down a bit the left leg.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Angela McCain on October 10, 2010 at 2:21 PM

The bird and fish are great. Very sharp with lots of detail. The foreground rocks distract me more than the hot spot on the leg. I would try and darken them a bit.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on October 10, 2010 at 7:09 PM

Doug, the hot spots you mention don't actually look hot to me, just a little bright and they're not large enough to be a bother for me anyway. There's only a very few pixels on the breast over 255 in a threshold layer. I like the pose, the fish and the water color. Sharpness looks good. For me that bright OOF foreground is a bit distracting.

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

Comment posted by Doug Gilham on October 10, 2010 at 7:51 PM

Thanks for the critiuqes. I had tried bringing the brightness of the foreground rocks down with dodging them after usuing the highlight tool, as they were even brighter than this, but was not happy with how it looked as I'm not very good at that process yet. I did manage to get the left leg looking better, I hope. Since I have the pixels I'll try a new crop and hope it is better. Thanks again, I appreciate it.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 77 Posts, 489 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 10, 2010 at 9:24 PM

Nice colors, it's clear and sharp Doug. If those light areas you speak of where OE, you've done a great job of bringing them down.
Well composed - Well done

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on October 10, 2010 at 10:33 PM

Great catch for bird and photographer.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 10, 2010 at 10:52 PM

Very nice; I think you can manage the whites in post-processing. It always amazes me the size of the fish these birds can swallow whole.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on October 11, 2010 at 6:04 AM

Good job on the repost Doug - great fish

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on October 11, 2010 at 9:08 AM

Doug,
I think the repost works better. Well done.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on October 11, 2010 at 2:36 PM

The repost is a significant improvement IMO Doug.

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

Comment posted by Dan Moore on October 11, 2010 at 4:38 PM

I see the critiques payed off here. Good Job!

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on October 11, 2010 at 8:10 PM

Doug

I prefer the second version because it minimizes the brightness of the OOF rocks in the foreground. Love the prey in the bill and how you handled the exposure works very well for me, especially because the silvery parts of the fish are extremely easy to blow out.

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

Comment posted by Benjamin DeHaven on October 11, 2010 at 8:36 PM

I agree about the burnt areas, they detract, but nothing too hateful. I am however upset that you found one of these birds out in the open. During the rare occasions I have spotted them at Bombay Hook they are always tucked deep in the brush. Nice catch!

Yes, the repost is much better! A real winner.

Registered on May 31, 2010, 26 Posts, 53 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 12, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Really nice work on the repost Doug, I might crop a little more off the top.

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

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on October 12, 2010 at 1:46 PM

Cool! The composition makes it for me. Like the foreground rocks, and the little diagonal they form, and the one rock in front of the bird in the water. Oh, and the bird and fish are quite nice as well!

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments