Nesting Blue Herons

[Brownbear]

A few images of nesting Great Blue Herons carrying branches and twigs to contribute to nests being built high up on tree tops.

Photographed on a cloudy morning in low light which necessitated high iso's.

f4 to f5, SS 1/1250 to 1/1600 ISO 800-1100 Focal length 300 mm

#1



#2


#3


#4


I hope to return soon under better lighting conditions but for now I would like to know if anyone can tell which two images I used selective noise reduction, and to know if these images look too soft/are lacking in detail, etc.

Thank you.

[Shadowman]

Still good captures even with the overcast sky.

[Stagecoach]

Very good captures Christina, No 2 being my favourite here. I have looked carefully and see no signs of obvious noise reduction but the exif shows max ISO of these as 900?

They certainly do not look too soft or lacking in detail to me.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Grahame...

I'm very happy to hear that you see no obvious signs of NR... Used on images #2, #3 and #4... Partially back lit so I also had to lift the shadows under the wings.

You're correct... I have several shots of these birds (amazingly ugly when viewed from below with their yellow eyes staring at you) and I didn't post the ISO 1600. Also just FYI most of the images have the branch covering the herons eye.

Very good captures Christina, No 2 being my favourite here. I have looked carefully and see no signs of obvious noise reduction but the exif shows max ISO of these as 900?

They certainly do not look too soft or lacking in detail to me.

[Barbara Ponder]

Lovely shots Christina!

[ied]

Beautiful captures Christina. My favourite being #2 - maybe because of that smaller branch. Simplicity.

Irene

[IzzieK]

I like #1 Christina because of his pose...he is like soaring into the air there...truth to say, it was really hard to choose which one is my favourite because they are all so good. #2 has a bit of softness on the lower wing and I like the top wing shot of #4 too...so I went for the poses and I choose #1. Good job!

[deetheturk]

Wonderful images Christina, I like them all, very well done!

[TheBigE]

Nice shots Christina - I like #4 the best, with the wings spread wide and he is going someplace. I agree coming back on a day where it is not overcast will make these really pop. For me I cannot see any obvious sings of NR. Well done in PP.

[DonnaK]

Outstanding captures, Christina. They are all so well done, but I do like #2 a lot! Your processing was also excellent because your photos really don't show any signs of it.

[marlunn]

Very very nice Christina, #2 is my favourite, anyone seen an ark around here ?

[Whistletown Wilds]

Great shots ,under tough conditions I like #3.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Christina , I decided to choose #2 and #4 for the images with NR without seeing your answer to Grahame. It seems that I couldn't notice #3. Anyway, all shots look very nice

[Brownbear]

Thank you to all for comments, advising on your preferences and the reasons why, and also for answering my question on whether the NR was noticeable. Very helpful for me to know and learn from. The weather here right now is endlessly wet and rainy but as soon as it clears up I'll be visiting the herons, again for another go at it in better light and lower isos.

Izzie... I can see the softness in the areas you mentioned. Thanks for advising. I too, like the pose on #1 and I hope to be able to capture more poses like these. I hope next time around to be able to use a larger aperture for greater dof but only if the light will allow with reasonable isos.

Irene.. Indeed it's just a wee branch and nice and simple. The branches are also part of the composition so something to think about.

Binnur... My apologies when I posted initially I included two of the same images which confused things.

Mark... It's raining so hard here that I wouldn't be surprised to see an ark.

Thank you to all!

[DEAN01]

Christina,
All are very nice, but I like 2 and 4 best.

[Nicks Pics]

Very good shots! They all have nice detail. Just for a guess, are the first two the ones on which you did NR? There are some hereon nests not to far from where I am, but I'm afraid getting good shots is not going to work since I can't get very close.

[Brownbear]

Dean...

Thank you. I appreciate knowing your preferences as it helps me to look at my own images more objectively.

Nick...

Thank you, as always. The 1st image has no NR, and if you were viewing it full size it would be easier to see in that there is some graininess in the shadow areas. In the rest of the images I applied NR to the background, and the shadow areas (softer) but not to the lighter areas (head of the bird and upper wings)

With respect to the herons not being in an area that you can get close to, it is great that you are aware of this.

Thank you to all.

[Nicks Pics]

Dean...

Thank you. I appreciate knowing your preferences as it helps me to look at my own images more objectively.

Nick...

Thank you, as always. The 1st image has no NR, and if you were viewing it full size it would be easier to see in that there is some graininess in the shadow areas. In the rest of the images I applied NR to the background, and the shadow areas (softer) but not to the lighter areas (head of the bird and upper wings)

With respect to the herons not being in an area that you can get close to, it is great that you are aware of this.

Thank you to all.

It is more difficult to see things on the monitor in the morning when the monitor looks dim, but I think I can see the affect of the NR better now, I think it helps on the images on which you did it.