Little Blue Heron

Gallery: AvianPosted October 4, 2011225 views11 comments

Canon EOS 7D
EF400mm f/5.6L USM
10/4/2011 – 8:12:18 AM
1/100 sec
Aperture priority
f/6.3 (meant for it to be 5.6)
ISO 200
Handheld
My backyard
Raw, LR3, CS5, full frame

Pros: Sharp, detailed, clean background. Full frame. I like the pose. I really love the morning light, but...

Cons: Deep shadows, especially on back of head, which make it impossible (I think) to increase the blacks or contrast any further for the image. Also hard to see if there is a catch light in this eye in this light.

Comments and suggestions are desired and appreciated. Thank you!

P.S. Interestingly to me, this morning I noticed that of the four adult LBHs at the pond three were gray and one was dark blue. Does anyone know if that means female/male or if their color just ranges that much?

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on October 4, 2011 at 12:55 PM

Nice shot Barbara, I think there is a slight magenta cast. To me it shows up in the grass. I do think the dark part of its head blends in with the BG too much. Maybe you could lighten the area? Beyond my PS skills. I am not sure what the different colored LBH means, maybe just a color phase. The bird folks should be able to tell. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on October 4, 2011 at 1:17 PM

Barbara. I don't mind the shadows and I like the light you had. For a full frame shot with that lens and camera I would expect more detail in the bird than I see. I suspect you had some camera movement at 1/100s hand held that caused a bit of a blur. Given the techs you present, I would have increased the ISO to 500 or even 640 (the 7D can handle that, especially at FF) and then increased my SS up to say 1/500s or whereever the proper exposure was at the increased ISO. I suspect it would have been around 1/500s or so. That extra SS would have been a big help in getting a tack sharp image of this heron hand held. Cheers.

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

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 4, 2011 at 1:27 PM

Hi Barbara,
I agree with Ron on bumping the iso and shutter speed. As for the F-stop, you may have needed more, not less here. This is a big bird and you were quite close to it for this to be a full frame shot. To get the whole bird sharp you may need more like 7.1 and you would probably still want to focus on the eye. All that said, it's a nice image and I quite like the sidelighting.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on October 4, 2011 at 3:17 PM

I'm fine with the shadows and sidelighting too Barbara. Good job getting this heron FF. I can't add to what Ron and Nate have said and agree with their comments.

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on October 4, 2011 at 3:49 PM

Other than what the others have said, it looks like your point of focus was more on the back than on the head/eye. Overall it's a pretty good shot...I like the pose showing off those gorgeous feathers.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on October 4, 2011 at 4:08 PM

Good work getting this full frame and finding a setting that doesn't detract from the heron.

I agree with the previous comments/suggestions on DOF, point of focus, ISO, and shutter speed for hand held shots at this focal length.

Little Blue Heron begins life looking a lot like a Snowy Egret (all white plumage with some gray tips), goes through a calico stage of mixed white and blue plumage that I always enjoyed seeing in my NJ days, and becomes an adult looking like your image. There's a "high breeding" plumage with "peak" color. As far as I know males and females look the same.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by Harry Harris on October 4, 2011 at 9:14 PM

Barbara, I can't speak to the colors as I have never seen this bird, but your images are really improving a lot. I like the side lighting and the dark back does not bother me a bit. This is my favorite so far.

Skip Harris

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 4, 2011 at 9:53 PM

Personally, I love this lighting, Barbara. It provides a sense of mystery that I find very appealing and it works well with the dark bg. The only drawback I see to it, is the brighter foreground. I do agree it could be a touch sharper, but it's not bad as is. As a note, I rarely set the iso on my 7D below 400 and if the light is slightly dim or I'm expecting action, I'll go to 640 as Ron mentioned. You might get a touch of noise, but it's something the noise reduction software can easily handle.

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on October 5, 2011 at 12:57 AM

You've already gotten comments on anything I could have covered. I'm very impressed with the way your shots are improving, Barbara!

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

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 5, 2011 at 8:36 AM

Detail & comp looks good Barbara, the shadows don't bother me.
I can't add much to what the others have said concerning improvement..
I would've shot this faster (sharper), and closed down the aperture a bit for better control of the light..

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on October 6, 2011 at 8:04 AM

Very nice Barbara, nice and sharp and well composed.

Ray

Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments