Place in the sun

Gallery: AvianPosted April 11, 2011401 views21 comments

I spent many afternoons at our local duck pond waiting for the right conditions to get this shot. There is an island in the centre of the pond where hundreds of birds of a variety of species roost for the night. I waited for a cloud bank to drift by in the west and dim the brightness of the setting sun here.

Added some contrast and "blacks" in RAW, and cloned out a piece of twig in front of the bird (I don't really do much cloning these days, but back when this was processed, I still did).

Techs:
Canon 1000D with 70-300mm
f8.0 | 1/640 SS | ISO-200

Comments

21 comments

Comment posted by Rick Lundh on April 11, 2011 at 5:52 PM

Really cool silhouette!

Registered on April 28, 2004, 774 Posts, 4351 Comments

Comment posted by Darren Colello on April 11, 2011 at 6:10 PM

Very dramatic and unique. I love it. Well done Morkel.

Registered on July 27, 2009, 175 Posts, 1100 Comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on April 11, 2011 at 6:22 PM

Really nice shot Morkel. Nothing wrong here for me.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 11, 2011 at 6:40 PM

The lighting is great, both in the sun and above it. Overall a delightful effect, although I'd like to see a bit more on the bottom of the frame.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on April 11, 2011 at 6:54 PM

An interesting image Morkel. I especially like the light and color on the background clouds to go with the sun and the bird in silhouette.

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

Comment posted by Bob Karcz on April 11, 2011 at 7:01 PM

Great shot! I also would like to see a bit more in the bottom area.

Registered on November 8, 2009, 25 Posts, 43 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on April 11, 2011 at 8:52 PM

A very unique image Morkel. I like the colors and the position of the heron.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by John Launstein on April 11, 2011 at 9:31 PM

Nice shot, Morkel! This just leaps off the gallery page because of the wonderful colour and strong silhouette. I love the overall exposure and resulting mood, and the composition and the bird's pose work perfectly.

I did notice the chest line of the bird looks a little pixelated...not sure if it's at just the right (wrong?) angle that is triggering that effect on my monitor, or if this is a substantial crop or?? but in any event I love the image.

I also wondered what this might look like if you brightened the sky slightly immediately behind the bird's legs and perch to help them pop out more from the darkness.

Nicely done, as usual! :)

Registered on April 5, 2011, 223 Posts, 1193 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on April 12, 2011 at 12:28 AM

Very cool silhouette, Morkel. I really like the mood that this light creates.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 12, 2011 at 12:46 AM

thanks very much for the kind comments everyone!

John - this is a bit of a crop but it looks fine on my monitor...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on April 12, 2011 at 3:30 AM

Beautiful pic. Lovely light, great perch, nice silhouette. A wonderful image all around, well done.

Registered on January 25, 2011, 44 Posts, 294 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 12, 2011 at 7:23 AM

Your investment in time certainly paid off Morkel! Wonderful silhouette and I love the dark, rich colours :^)

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by Murali Santhanam on April 12, 2011 at 11:13 AM

Lovely concept.

Registered on July 31, 2008, 43 Posts, 331 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 12, 2011 at 12:59 PM

thanks a lot!!

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 12, 2011 at 1:08 PM

Very nicely thought out and executed, Morkel. I too dig the mood in this image. I feel having more room in the bottom will enhance this image.

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 12, 2011 at 2:38 PM

Morkel, one word for this one....FABULOUS! Believe me, I have many more words (all good), but I don't think the character limit would let me type them all in. I think this one is very special.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on April 12, 2011 at 2:53 PM

Well conceived and executed. It's surprisingly dramatic for a silhouette. I agree with the others that a bit more room at the bottom would make it even stronger.

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

Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on April 12, 2011 at 3:58 PM

This is really a great shot ! Right time, right place.

Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on April 12, 2011 at 10:30 PM

Very cool . Has a great mood to it

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on April 12, 2011 at 11:47 PM

thanks for the encouraging comments! unfortunately there is no more space at the bottom...though if I really wanted to I could probably extend canvas and paint in the rest of the branches

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 13, 2011 at 3:51 AM

A beautiful and dramatic image!!! You had a vision, and you stuck with it until it happened. Very Nice Work Morkel

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments