Grey Heron

A Grey Heron taken early one morning in October.

Have been working on lots of the common stuff so far this winter and although I didn't set out to photograph Herons, it was a great by-product of what I was after.

Not sure if this will be a little dark for some?

Great to be part of this community once again, c and c gratefully recived.

Tecks - D2X, 200-400MM, 1.4TC, 1/250TH F5.6

Cheers.

Hi Chris,

Yes, I would vote for a lighter image. I would also try to get rid of the bright "stuff" floating on the water. Plus I would try to move heron a bit away from the edge. Negative space on the left part of the mage is a bit tto much for me. On the other hand I would be very pleased with the image of this sort. Herons around here are extremelly skittish.

Cheers,
Marko

Thank you Marko for your comment. I will try the amendments you have suggested and upload an updated version.

Cheers.

Hi Chris good to see you posting .I like the atmosphere you have captured the dark bit really works for me ,might just tone down those bright bits .Something a bit different that I like a lot.

Keith.

Hi Chris

per the others the overall mood from the slight backlighting is great but the bright floating debris and feathers do need removing to lift the image to another level.

Thanks Mike and Keith, on the work machine at the moment but will upload an updated version tonight.

Cheers.

Here's the updated version without the floating fluff. Looks much better IMO, thanks for the advice.

Chris taking those white bits out as made all the difference, that mist coming from the water really adds to this smashing image.
Keith.

Personally I like both, the floaters on the water emphasis the windless conditions.
I do feel though that it needs a touch more light and if you do this balance it so that the mood is not lost. Certainly not just a simple job of adjusting the levels rhs slider. I tried it and the whole atmosphere gets lost......maybe better with a wee curves adjustment
J

Cheers Keith and John for your respective comments.

I have shot a lighter version before the one posted. Comparing side by side you can still see the mist but the backlighting effect is not as subtle IMO.

C.

That's similar to what I was getting when I tried adjusting it, it loses too much atmosphere when compared to the original.

Nice atmospheric shot Chris.

Presuming that you're using Photoshop, then you could try adding a curves adjustment layer, then bringing the right slider in until it reaches the start of the histogram, also bring the black slider in slightly too. Then try adding a couple of points to the curve to make a very slight 's' curve - which should slightly increase the contrast/colour. If you're using PS5 or 6, then you can simply adjust the opacity of the curves layer to adjust the strength of the effect to suite your taste. See the image above for one possibility.

Nick,

Thanks very much for your help and instructions. I shall give this ago when I get back on my own machine over the weekend and I'll repost the result!

Thanks again for your help.