Black-crowned Night-Hero

Gallery: AvianPosted January 3, 2016106 views10 comments

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Place: Water Ranch, Gilbert, AZ
Date: December 10, 2015, 1:04 pm
Equipment: Nikon D7200, Nikkor AF-S 300/4, hand held
Exposure: ISO 800, aperture priority spot metered, 1/2500^th @ f/4
Raw, PS CC 2015 on Mac, 87% of frame

An untypical afternoon visit to the Water Ranch, and without the bigger lens and heavy tripod, just to see if conditions had improved lately. Still not much going on there but I did have a close encounter with another juvie Night-Heron. I have mixed feelings about the heavy branch in the upper left – I know it is somewhat distrcting but I like the depth it adds to the image. There was no way to avoid it in the composition, anyway.

Larger version provided for critical viewing of image quality and detail. Honest critiques requested; all comments appreciated.

Comments

10 comments

Comment posted by Hans Overduin on January 3, 2016 at 12:16 PM

Always great to have these guys with a raised foot, since I associate that with them walking in slow motion towards their prey. In my opinion the image could well do wihtout the diagonal branch... Nice catch ! Cheers, Hans

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

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on January 3, 2016 at 12:18 PM

The stick doesn't bother me overly, Richard. I think it actually adds to the composition, in some mysterious way. The bird striding with the high raised foot is excellent. Of minor concern is the soft focus on both feet. You had plenty of room to use a smaller opening at 1/2500. A really minor sin considering the implied action and good detail of the rest of the subject. cool

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

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on January 3, 2016 at 12:53 PM

A nice capture in difficult light. The raised foot gives it a nice dynamism. I like the heavy branch; it focuses the eye on the movement of the bird. I'd say it contributes strongly to the image.

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

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on January 3, 2016 at 1:01 PM

I like the raised foot, but agree with Hans about the branch. I think removing it would be an improvement.

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

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on January 3, 2016 at 1:28 PM

The intense stare and the raised foot make this one, Nice!

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 3, 2016 at 4:12 PM

Beautifully sharp on the head and beak, Richard. I like the upper left branch and the fact that the line is close to parallel with the upper line of the bird's head and beak and that it's in crisp focus helps make it work for me.

devil

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

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on January 4, 2016 at 7:37 PM

Hi Richard,

Nicely done. The left hand stick could disappear, but it does create a funnel for pushing the eye towards the heron. I like the pose of the heron too...........................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on January 4, 2016 at 8:32 PM

Really nice capture! I like the raised foot and the intent look in those eyes. I don't object to the branch on the left, I think it adds balance to the image. I'm sure it would nice without it too...your call. enlightened

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Ramy on January 6, 2016 at 10:58 AM

Hey Richard,
As mentioned, Great Pose !
The regular large version is outstanding with great detail in the shadow areas and not to bright as the small version appears. (I am assuming you posted large and used the auto down size which does not do my images justice either)
I'm on the fence about the branch and can see that its removal would yield a different image than you have now but rather it would be better or not is a matter of taste. If it were mine however, I would clean up the white poop on the main perch, to me poop is always distracting . . . angel

Registered on June 16, 2012, 567 Posts, 2809 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on January 6, 2016 at 3:45 PM

The regular large version is outstanding with great detail in the shadow areas and not to bright as the small version appears. (I am assuming you posted large and used the auto down size which does not do my images justice either)

No. Large (1600x) and small (720x) images are derived from the same original on my Mac and uploaded separately. Both have the same sRGB color profile embedded. There are no tonal differences between them. Both should look ther same in a color-managed web browser.

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