I need $$$...

[Bobobird]

No, not exactly. Your valuable input on these 2 images would suffice. Usually that means more than $$$ to me.

Thanks.

1.


2.

[IzzieK]

Welcome back, Bobo. I haven't seen you here lately...

Where in the world did you take this shots? They are really very nice. I see some of them birds can be shot singly...very interesting...especially the second photo showing how far your reach can be. I like #1 very much too.

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, really like the first for lighting capture, patterns, and composition. 2nd image is nice as well but composition changes the subject so that sky is more prominent.

[dje]

Very nice Bobo, lovely light in these shots which are also very interesting.

Sorry but I have no spare dollars anyway.

Dave

[Bobobird]

Thanks Izzie. Yes, a rare visitor nowadays. Have been following everyone's advice - shoot, shoot, shoot and that leaves no time for other things.

Thanks John. I was using the shorter zoom that day because I did not want to carry around another lens. #1 was done at 300mm and #2 at 70mm to show the environment. One of the very few days that I ventured out for the sunrise and the slight cloud cover turned out to be quite nice.

Thanks Dave. Not to worry, your words are like $$$ to me.

[Mike Buckley]

I can easily imagine both of these images being an excellent start on a photo essay pertaining to this species of birds.

The only currency I can throw your way is to suggest trying to add Local Contrast Enhancement in the first image to the birds and/or the nests. I would have to see the revision to know whether this suggestion proves to be effective.

[Polar01]

I just like the whole way image #1 looks and feels to me.

Cheers: Allan

[Bobobird]

Thanks Allan. As can be seen from #2 the shots were taken from a backlit position. In #1 I was forced to go for an almost pastel like finish as too much contrast would have made both the birds and nests rather dark.

Thanks Mike. That is a great idea. Was lamenting the fact that I only found that location after the babies had grown quite large. Would have been great to follow the progression of the closer nests from rebuilding to the time when the kids left. Another idea I have for the place is a pano shot. Tried that a few times with various lens from 15mm all the way to 800mm but have yet to settle on one that shows not only the environment but the birds need to be somewhat identifiable.

About LCE. I have read about this every now and then but have never actually done anything with it. Do you have a link to where more info can be found? Thanks.

[Mike Buckley]

CiC's tutorial is the best practical explanation I've seen of LCE. Not that it matters, but I regularly apply LCE in my photos, sometimes throughout the entire photo and sometimes only in selected areas.

[Bobobird]

Thanks. Will dig into that now.

[Rebel]

I think both these images are great! Nice shots Bobo

[bnnrcn]

Great images, especially #1

[Brownbear]

Hi Bobo,

Beautiful images. Gorgeous light. My fave is #1 for the closer and unique view of the nesting herons.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Matt, Binnur, Christina. I appreciate the feedback.

Have done a LCE on #1 as Mike suggested. It was not possible to do this selectively to only the birds and/or nests because of the mass of branches in the way so applied it to the whole image.

[Mike Buckley]

I like the subtle use of LCE but I don't like the change that you made to the color balance. Just my opinion.

By the way, I always play it safe by excluding the application of LCE to skies. It doesn't seem to cause a problem in this situation when viewed at this size, but it can be problematic in other situations, especially when viewing an image on a large flat-screen television.

[Bobobird]

Thanks Mike, will work on that.

[Bobobird]

Redo 2.
Applied the revised version onto the original, reduced opacity to 5% set to multiply, very very light downwards curves pull. Change is very subtle.

Both images at 1600 wide so can be seen big in lightbox.

To make comparison easier have copied #1 here.

Original #1


Redo 2

[Mike Buckley]

There is no question which one works better for me. Which one works better for you?

[FootLoose]

I like the composition of the first shot, Bobo: three vertical lines with three (near enough) nests in each one, and the largest group of inhabitants (3) in the centre construction. Regarding the sharpening: I think high pass works well with this type of image. (2 pixels looks good to me. caveat: my eyesight isn't what it used to be)

I think the 2nd shot needs a large slice cropped off the bottom. The darker colour at the bottom weighs the image down too much, and a crop makes the row of birds more central and balances up the colours overall.

[Bobobird]

There is no question which one works better for me. Which one works better for you?

Depends on time of day.
I think redo 2 looks just a tad more contrasty.