American Bittern & repost

Gallery: AvianPosted December 18, 201377 views10 comments

I had the good luck to see two of these together at Ridgefield on Monday of this week and actually got to see one of them fly. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy so images were difficult. I did some contrast boost on this one to get it half way presentable. I debated with myself about the spider web and decided to leave it.

7D, 500mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, beanbag on truck window, f6.4, 1/100, iso 500, Av mode with no compensation. Cropped to 4x5 aspect ratio (13MP). Processed in CS6. Taken at 8:43 am on December 16th.

Your comments and criticisms are appreciated.

Thanks for looking,

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on December 18, 2013 at 4:31 PM

Good portrait, considering the light. The spider web adds a grace note, explaining the conditions, and is not a distraction to me.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on December 18, 2013 at 5:27 PM

Nice work for the conditions you encountered Dennis. I like the spider thread and the composition.

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Ray Whitt on December 18, 2013 at 6:36 PM

I like the spider web, looks like the bird is contemplating it. Nice job this.

Ray

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on December 18, 2013 at 6:53 PM

Dennis...any chance of seeing the original with the fog? The bird does look over-processed to me, but before I comment further...I'd like to see the original. I'm fine with the cool web! Sharon

added: Tough call for me...I like both images. Both have nice sharp feather detail, and I guess at first I thought the detail was a little too coarse, but now have changed my mind! I like that it has me wondering what's at the other end of that web! Thank you for posting the original for me. Sharon

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on December 18, 2013 at 7:28 PM

Sharon: Here's a repost with almost no processing.

Thanks,

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

Comment posted by Ken Watkins on December 19, 2013 at 12:40 AM

Dennis,

The spider web should be distracting but it is not, the detail in the large version makes this special

Registered on December 15, 2010, 1537 Posts, 4877 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on December 19, 2013 at 12:53 AM

A sweet close-up portrait of this bittern in it's environment Dennis. Very nice detail.

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

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on December 19, 2013 at 11:11 AM

Great encounter. The fog adds to the image, as does the spider web...

, hans

Registered on August 31, 2011, 491 Posts, 3807 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on December 19, 2013 at 2:59 PM

Cool and unique shot Dennis, I prefer your first post over the original.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on December 20, 2013 at 11:39 AM

Nice to see one of these let alone two. Like the spider web.

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