The jump

Gallery: AvianPosted May 17, 2011184 views17 comments

I took this one at Oasi di S'Alessio, in northern Italy. It is a free bird not captive, that hang around this safe place.

I took this when it took off from the pond inside the oasis.

Techs:
Camera:D2Xs - Iso 400 f/6,7 - Metering: spot - WB: Sunny - Comp: -1/3 EV
Lens: AF-S Nikkor 200-400 f/4G ED VRII @400mm - Manfrotto tripod with Wimberley head, VR:OFF

PP: Cropped top and bottom, cloned some branches, Blur the BG to remove disturbing elements. Selective saturation on the bird's head.Canvas added to the left side, slightly CCW rotation. Intentionally i did not add sharpness to the Heron .

C&C appreciated as usual.

Comments

17 comments

Comment posted by Ron Huff on May 17, 2011 at 4:05 PM

Luca, a nice peaceful image. I like the water coming off the feet and the overall green color of the image. Get the feeling of a quiet early morning. Nice job.

Ron Huff

Registered on August 31, 2010, 69 Posts, 440 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on May 17, 2011 at 4:16 PM

Luca, I really like the image. The trailing water and that creamy bg work well here. I notice that your shutter speed is not in the csmera info, and i suspect a slowish ss, because the heron isn't sharp sharp. It works in terms of the image as a whole, but could be sharper.

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

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on May 17, 2011 at 5:33 PM

Luca, the water trail behind the heron is exquisite...
your BG blur seems well executed, but the light could have been better...the heron seems to need just that tad of extra sharpening, but given the noise you picked up this might enhance the noise too much?

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

Comment posted by Durwood Edwards on May 17, 2011 at 6:47 PM

Beautiful bird, light, color and timing. A little fuzzy on parts of the bird, but still a very pretty image!

Registered on December 8, 2006, 116 Posts, 394 Comments

Comment posted by May Haga on May 17, 2011 at 7:08 PM

Very nice image Luca, Love the water trail off the feet.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on May 17, 2011 at 8:24 PM

Luca, This image really works for me. It reminds me of a quiet morning, setting near the water and it so peaceful. Thank you so much for posting it.

Harry

Registered on August 2, 2010, 169 Posts, 741 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Strand on May 18, 2011 at 12:01 AM

Luca, the smaller image does not do justice to your fine piece of ART. Everything from the bird, inflight attitude and pose is so beautifully captured. The water and lingering droplets and all against the wonderful BG along with your talent, make this a gorgeous work of art, "Congratulations!"

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Robert Holguin on May 18, 2011 at 1:21 AM

Beautiful, beautiful image. I personally love everything about it. Great colors, love the trailing water, and I like the softness of the entire shot. Well done.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on May 18, 2011 at 10:14 AM

Due to the softness I'm surprised that this image has as much appeal for me as it does Luca. Really like the trailing water, the curve of the wings and the ever so subtle ripple in the upper-middle background to the right. I too wonder about your SS but applaud you for disclosing the details of your processing for this image.

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

Comment posted by Barbara Graham on May 18, 2011 at 10:40 AM

Really appealing image, Luca, and maybe the softness adds to the appeal in this image. I also thank you for disclosing your processing information.

Registered on July 27, 2010, 1310 Posts, 5035 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Hackley on May 18, 2011 at 2:06 PM

I really like to overall composition, a very unique image, I also wish for the heron to be just a little sharper, nice job in getting this.

Registered on September 17, 2009, 302 Posts, 5535 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Roberts on May 18, 2011 at 2:41 PM

Perfect timing and whatever it took that is an excellent BG. It is really striking the way the bird is isolated in this image. IMO the softness of the bird would be OK if it were complete. As is the sharpness of the legs and water drops are at odds with the soft head/wings of the bird. Still, overall it is a lovely image.

Registered on March 9, 2011, 69 Posts, 501 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on May 18, 2011 at 8:17 PM

Luca,
The water combined the creamy background is just delicious. Image looks a little soft to my eye but who cares. This is so serene and peacefull. Love it.

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by Luca Mussato on May 19, 2011 at 1:28 AM

Thank you. your comments exploited my feelings. I discussed with myself wether or not try and act on heron's sharpness, but at the end the decision was NOT. As Morkel stated, indeed I tried but the noise introduced annoyed me more than the not sharp-sharp result.
About the SS, I forgot: it was at 1/1000s.

Cheers, Luca

Registered on November 14, 2006, 118 Posts, 855 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 20, 2011 at 1:59 PM

Luca,
I really like the dynamic pose, the water droplets and the clear background. Really appealing image.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Oscar Dewhurst on May 20, 2011 at 5:41 PM

Stunning

Oscar

Registered on August 6, 2009, 85 Posts, 502 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on November 23, 2011 at 12:46 AM

Excellent capture Luca! I'd be tempted to try some selective sharpening on the Heron myself, but not sure it would make a lot of difference, in any case I'd love to have this in my collection!

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