The background doesn't really bother me at all. Nice sharpness. I love these birds.
Posted by David Bostock on January 15, 2010 at 9:08 PM
Nicely done Wade. I like the environmentals here. The background doesn't bother me at all. He's a nice specimen too. Great catch. One comment, this doesn't bother me much, but some avid birders, wildlife photographers in general, will say that you shouldn't cut off the legs/feet. Even if you can't see them, you should leave room in the frame for them to be "perceived" by the viewer. I took that to heart a number of years ago and try to include room whenever possible--for birds, animals, even people...
I really like the lighting and quality of the processing you've done here, Wade.
I think it's perfect. The bright white of the head draws away even from the most attractive color: red. I also love the pattern of the plumage in front of the breast. Great shot. It's interesting to me that with the principle of not cutting off your subject at the joints only applies to the frame of the image and not the environment. Cool.
Posted by Craig Strand on January 16, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Nice composition Wade, it also looks like some nice sharp detail of the herons plumage. I am not bothered by the habitat. Very nice job!
Posted by John Williams on January 16, 2010 at 10:46 AM
This is great Wade. The pose and composition work well.
The background works fine as an environment, but it would be nice if it was separated a little more from the bird. What I've had success with in the past is to increase contrast focusing on the range of the histogram the bird occupies. In playing with this photo for example, a curve with points at 41/48 and 168/153 works to my eye. (You can also mask out the effect with a very soft-edged brush on the background to even more emphasize the bird.) Just a thought, YMMV.
Discussion
5 replies1/125th of a sec f4 iso 320
The background is a little cluttered but it shows the environement of this bird.
I really like the lighting and quality of the processing you've done here, Wade.
The background works fine as an environment, but it would be nice if it was separated a little more from the bird. What I've had success with in the past is to increase contrast focusing on the range of the histogram the bird occupies. In playing with this photo for example, a curve with points at 41/48 and 168/153 works to my eye. (You can also mask out the effect with a very soft-edged brush on the background to even more emphasize the bird.) Just a thought, YMMV.