Nice shot! I actually like the background (why do some want all backgrounds to be a boring monotone?) as it shows the bird`s habitat nicely. I think the overhanging branches add interest to the composition with being distracting.
Nice flight shot I dont have a problem with the background, but its perhaps a tad too dark. Still a very goood shot though
Posted by Nigel Blake on April 15, 2008 at 2:28 AM
Great shot with a grand and different background, I really like it, but..my only nit is that the image composition is too central ( I wish camera manufacturers would address the issue of best af points being only in centre of frame) and misses out on that lovely grey reflection of the Heron in the water below.
Thanks for comments all. I agree about positioning of focusing points. There is more space to the right and top of image as I cropped it a little. I specifically wanted to include the environment in this image. The background is actually a near vertical bank of rock and soil with overhanging trees. It is also in deep shade at that time in the morning so exposure is difficult as I have found out in the past. Give a general exp for the scene and the highlights on the heron blow out so I deliberately under exposed. I suppose a bit of selective levels work can be done in P/S but this was a straight file from the raw. This bird had been sat on some branches for some while and I got several standing shots which I really liked as the background gave them an almost oriental feel (there was some lovely old branches coming down from above) but due to position of bird and some obscuring small branches I was limited to a more central positioning of bird. I shall post another tonight after work to see if anyone thinks the same.
Don't see many heron shots from above Robert, which is nice to see!!
Seems quite a well balanced composition to my eye, and the branches tend to frame the bird.
Nice one
Alan
Posted by eric weight on April 15, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Hello Robert,
I think you have a wonderful shot there. The composition, colours and the Bg are very nice. I would prefer a bit more room to the right even if it means making the bird smaller, but the first thing that really hits me when I see it is that the head is Oof. In fact the focus looks to be in front of the bird as some of the wing feathers look sharper. it would really frustarte me if it were mine because I like the image so much. Eric
This is another shot from the sequence taken on Monday morning. Having noted some of the comments on this post I have tried to selectively lighten the background a touch. The background on this one is a bit lighter anyway as the dark rocks are more to the left of the bird and were picked up when it flew.
EOS 30D
Sigma 500
Posted by eric weight on April 16, 2008 at 1:03 AM
I like this one very much as well. I do like to see some background. It looks soft again on my screen, but the problem could be at this end. If it is sharp at your end that's great. Do you resharpen after you have reduced the pic to 720 px? If not try giving it one or two rounds of USM at 50/1/2 after down-sizing. Works for me if the image is a sharp one at the larger size. Eric.
Discussion
14 repliesEOS 30D
Sigma 500mm
exp 1/500 f5.6 iso 400
Nice in flight shot of the Heron. Looks sharp and the colours look good to. Could be a better BG but we take what we can with these jumpy giants!!
Regards
Rob
Very nice flight shot!
Seems quite a well balanced composition to my eye, and the branches tend to frame the bird.
Nice one
Alan
I think you have a wonderful shot there. The composition, colours and the Bg are very nice. I would prefer a bit more room to the right even if it means making the bird smaller, but the first thing that really hits me when I see it is that the head is Oof. In fact the focus looks to be in front of the bird as some of the wing feathers look sharper. it would really frustarte me if it were mine because I like the image so much.
EOS 30D
Sigma 500
Cheers
Robert