Great Blue Heron

[Brownbear]

A recent image of a Great Blue Heron that I'm fond of for the water droplets, and their reflections. It was low tide and the bird was fishing in the shallow ocean waters.

f7 SS 1/1600 (in case the bird took flight) ISO 450 focal length 300 mm



Do I need to learn to expand the canvas to add more room at the top? Or will a crop from the bottom do just as well?

[Otavio]

...Do I need to learn to expand the canvas to add more room at the top? Or will a crop from the bottom do just as well?

Hello, Christina. A beautiful image of a wonderful worldwide poser bird! I like the settings you used. I would choose something similar (if not the same). The PP is also very good and contributed to produce a pleasant image.

Regarding your question: I do think your image could benefit from a little more canvas at the top. Here is a quick edit, just to give you an idea of how it would look like. Hope my edit dont bother you. If it does, just let me know and I will promptly remove it. Again, very nice image! Regards,

[Nicks Pics]

I think it is professional quality. You have a great camera, and the PP is un-noticible, which is a good thing, of course, it looks lifelike, I mean. I'm curious, when folks say (speaking of DSLRs ) that they used 300 mm (or other ) do you usually mention a telephoto converter if you used one? Or might 300mm mean 300 + x2 ?

[chauncey]

You're right about the headroom Christina but...it is a stellar image.

Sure is a good thing that you have a good camera...cause it do take good pictures.

[Brownbear]

Hello Otavio,

Thank you. Yes, indeed super models found world wide. Great to hear about my PP.

I appreciate your edit, and I will give it a try this weekend. So far I have not been able to do this well, but seeing your edit will serve as inspiration. My next shot I left too little room at the bottom, 3rd shot perfectly composed but the water droplets are not as special. So I will give it my best try!

Hello, Christina. A beautiful image of a wonderful worldwide poser bird! I like the settings you used. I would choose something similar (if not the same). The PP is also very good and contributed to produce a pleasant image.

Regarding your question: I do think your image could benefit from a little more canvas at the top. Here is a quick edit, just to give you an idea of how it would look like. Hope my edit dont bother you. If it does, just let me know and I will promptly remove it. Again, very nice image! Regards,

[Brownbear]

Hi Nick,

Thank you. I photographed this heron in the early morning light when the ocean waters are calm. In this particular area there are some blue and silver boat houses and the reflection of these in the water makes for a beautiful colour. I have some geese floating on silver seas... LOL

Yes, I have a great camera. When I upgraded to the D7100 I found it far easier to capture focus on fast flying birds. And my 300 mm lens is my best lens, and I definitely see a difference in my images in the detail captured.

300 mm is the correct focal length. When I spotted the heron I moved closer, slowly in steps... And just hung around quietly enjoying the view, etc. I had to move further away to fit the bird in the frame...

Processing... I warmed up the WB by about 200... Blacks -17 Whites +3...Decreased exposure by .30, increased shadows by .30. Increased clarity and vibrancy by 20. Sharpened with an unsharp mask of .3 at 85%.

I think it is professional quality. You have a great camera, and the PP is un-noticible, which is a good thing, of course, it looks lifelike, I mean. I'm curious, when folks say (speaking of DSLRs ) that they used 300 mm (or other ) do you usually mention a telephoto converter if you used one? Or might 300mm mean 300 + x2 ?

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured.

[ajsmith]

That's a beautiful photo, everything about it. The color is really nice.

[Mike Buckley]

Wonderful image except one thing, at least to me who knows nothing about the habits of birds: Notice the circular disruption in the water and the drops leading to it for which there is no source. If this image was mine, I would eliminate that part of the image unless someone who knows the habits of birds can explain why it makes sense to leave it as is.

[FootLoose]

Beautiful image, Christina, I like how you have capture the full reflection, too. From the look of the misaligned water drops that Mike noticed, I would guess the bird moved its head slightly during capture.

[pnodrog]

Wonderful image except one thing, at least to me who knows nothing about the habits of birds: Notice the circular disruption in the water and the drops leading to it for which there is no source. If this image was mine, I would eliminate that part of the image unless someone who knows the habits of birds can explain why it makes sense to leave it as is.

When they grab a wee tasty morsel from under the water they thrust their neck and beak out very quickly. I think it has just returned to a more static position after having grabbed something from the centre of the disturbance. Christina can tell us - after all it is her excellent shot (once she has clone some space at the top).

[TonyW]

Wonderful image except one thing, at least to me who knows nothing about the habits of birds: Notice the circular disruption in the water and the drops leading to it for which there is no source. If this image was mine, I would eliminate that part of the image unless someone who knows the habits of birds can explain why it makes sense to leave it as is.

No, no. I had not taken it in before you mentioned it, but those details are absolutely fascinating and I believe not introduced by the photographer. The big circular ripple seems to have been caused by the bird's beak, there is another circle further back from it's centre and a third circle from the drops you see falling into the water. All this is indicative of the history of the birds movement and the drops that fell from its beak. I think it is from the movement of the bird's head just before capture rather than during it.

This is a great bird picture as to be expected from Christina. I agree about the head room but if it is extended in PP, the shadow/reflection right at the top must be preserved. It balances what you see in the reflection.

[Stagecoach]

Beautiful shot Christina, as most of your birds are and well done for capturing the water drops and ripple(s).

Loads of herons here congregating on the foreshore in the morning but nothing to capture them with

Grahame

[IzzieK]

When I scrolled through the whole shot I thought : Wow! This is an excellent photo. Only then did I look for flaws. I like the water drops which you have been doing some lately and excelling in it too. And yes, a bit more room at the top like Otavio's edit will be very nice indeed.

[jprzybyla]

Nice sharp image of a Great Blue Heron. Otavio did a good job of extending the canvas at the top. If more of the water was shown to the left of the ripple it would balance the image better. The image as shown is underexposed by about 1 stop. Try raising the exposure by +1.0 to see the difference.

Here is a workflow to try in Lightroom on a RAW image. Turn on the highlight and shadow clipping indicators at the top right and left of the histogram. Leave them on all the time. Next click on Auto exposure. That will set the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows and black and white sliders to a starting point. If the highlight clipping indicator shows that the highlights are clipped type in -40 in the highlight box to the right side. Then watching the image move the white slider to the left until the red clipping indicators in the image are gone. If the clipping indicator at the top right of the histogram still shows clipping or a color channel as clipped continue to move the white slider left until that disappears.

Next type or set 30 for the Clarity slider and 10 for the Vibrance slider. Leave the Saturation at 0. If the clipping indicator shows that the shadows are clipped (top left hand corner of the histogram) move the black slider to the right until the clipping disappears.

Most times this will get you at or very close to the correct exposure.

Take your original raw image (as out of the camera) and make a virtual copy of it in Lightroom and try this to compare the two images.

[Wavelength]

Superb, simply......

[Brownbear]

Thank you to all for your comments and advice. Very helpful and truly appreciated.


First off here is my try at expanding the canvas...

Doing a good job of cloning is just beyond my PP skill set. I used the water line on the top, and tried cloning it in at 100% opacity and also at different opacities. There is also the complication of the little reflections below but cloning from this point also looks odd because the reflection is darker. I will save the image and try again at a later date.



Tony, Paul and Greg... Thank you for explaining the ripples and water droplets and sharing your thoughts on these.

Mike...

As always thank you for your advice and suggestions. The feeding behaviour has been explained very well by all. They feed on little fish in the shallows, a very fast dunk and withdrawal of the their beaks from the water. This disrupts the surface tension, makes splashes and ripples. I can't explain the reflections.

Here are the images immediately before and after that shot. In the after shot one can see a wee glimpse of something in its beak. Grass or fish - I don't know.

Before




After


Here is the fish... 2 wee ones, a 100% crop of an image where I wasn't close enough.



Thank you Izzie, Nandakumar, Grahame, Tony, Paul, Greg, Ali and Mike!

[Brownbear]

Hi Joe,

Thank you kindly for taking the time to comment and advise on PP. In my original image when I went for a lower key version simply because it brought out more detail in the whites around the herons beak. Typically I prefer lighter images so perhaps I should've just darkened the exposure/highlights in that area.

Thank you for your PP guidelines. Very easy to follow. Here is my edit doing exactly that but the exposure increased by .60 because any more than that required me to take the whites below zero, and lower the highlights too much.


I tried to expand the canvas on this image as advised, also to the right but I just can't do it well.



I have a few shots of this heron so your PP tips will serve me well. Thank you!

Nice sharp image of a Great Blue Heron. Otavio did a good job of extending the canvas at the top. If more of the water was shown to the left of the ripple it would balance the image better. The image as shown is underexposed by about 1 stop. Try raising the exposure by +1.0 to see the difference.

Here is a workflow to try in Lightroom on a RAW image. Turn on the highlight and shadow clipping indicators at the top right and left of the histogram. Leave them on all the time. Next click on Auto exposure. That will set the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows and black and white sliders to a starting point. If the highlight clipping indicator shows that the highlights are clipped type in -40 in the highlight box to the right side. Then watching the image move the white slider to the left until the red clipping indicators in the image are gone. If the clipping indicator at the top right of the histogram still shows clipping or a color channel as clipped continue to move the white slider left until that disappears.

Next type or set 30 for the Clarity slider and 10 for the Vibrance slider. Leave the Saturation at 0. If the clipping indicator shows that the shadows are clipped (top left hand corner of the histogram) move the black slider to the right until the clipping disappears.

Most times this will get you at or very close to the correct exposure.

Take your original raw image (as out of the camera) and make a virtual copy of it in Lightroom and try this to compare the two images.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice shots Christina But I have to tell you that I like your 'before' shot much better. Very nice composition. I would add some canvas to the bottom part of the image.

[terrib]

It's a beautiful image, Christina. Especially enjoyable for those of us who have followed your progress. I agree more room at the top would be ideal. Believe me, I get too close so often and I have no excuse because I'm using a zoom!

I also agree with Joe that it is a bit underexposed but I agree with your observation about the head detail. Your suggested approach to do local adjustments on the head is sound, I think.