First image from what will hopefully be a complete series, having once again been unsuccessful at recording the mating ritual ( always next year ), I was pleased to find that the grebes had nested in an almost accessable location, this is from my initial session whilst moving the hide into a suitable location.
Pouring with rain again, yes that is rain on the bird.... I think we must be one of the few areas of the country with flood warnings and drought measures in force at the same time.....
All the best
P.S. just noticed a few jpg artifacts in the bg.... had to compres this quite a bit for some reason....
Compression is probably due to the high detail in the nest and I always find that green leaves dramatically increase a image's file size. A lovely natural history moment. Wonderful detail in the grebes head plumage and its nicely composed. For me, the OOF twig in the left foreground is a little bit of a distraction. It also looks a little dull. Have you fiddled with the curve yet? Might need a little more brightness and punch.
No how you feel about the weather!!!! Still... at least Kenwood's SSSI bog (Hampstead Heath) will retain its moisture and status. It was looking like more like a tennis court!
Beautiful image Phil,They are nesting here now,One of the guys in holland has pics with chicks,Cant believe they are sooo far forward.Great detail,The branch on the left doesnt bother me although sure it will some
An extremely pleasing image, even the bird looks content. If Toms suggestions for the new challenge gets off the ground and its number 3 this would get my vote.
I'm not sure about the twig but a fine image. Love the droplets on the Grebe. Must get out soon to get some Grebe shots myself. After all this is Grebe country
Beautiful shot. Exposure looks fine to me, and I like the soft lighting and the rich green of the background water.
I don`t mind the twig on the left so much, but do find my eye drawn by the two behind the Grebe`s bum!
Excellent image, great colour and detail in the feathers, soft light always helps in these situations. Only minor nit is the big twig thing on the left is a slight distraction but otherwise this is a super shot and you have really made the most of the poor weather conditons.
I really like this Phil - the wet and soft light has really delivered the goods. The twigs etc add to the authentic feel of the image so I would leave them alone. There is a little spot on the right hand edge of the background which I would get rid of.
Yes the faint square blocks in the background do look like JPG compression artifacts - there is so much detail in the image it is difficult to squash it all in
Wonder if you have tried image slicing in ImageReady - you can set different compression levels for different parts of an image.
Discussion
16 repliesHi,
First image from what will hopefully be a complete series, having once again been unsuccessful at recording the mating ritual ( always next year
Pouring with rain again, yes that is rain on the bird.... I think we must be one of the few areas of the country with flood warnings and drought measures in force at the same time.....
All the best
P.S. just noticed a few jpg artifacts in the bg.... had to compres this quite a bit for some reason....
Compression is probably due to the high detail in the nest and I always find that green leaves dramatically increase a image's file size. A lovely natural history moment. Wonderful detail in the grebes head plumage and its nicely composed. For me, the OOF twig in the left foreground is a little bit of a distraction. It also looks a little dull. Have you fiddled with the curve yet? Might need a little more brightness and punch.
No how you feel about the weather!!!! Still... at least Kenwood's SSSI bog (Hampstead Heath) will retain its moisture and status. It was looking like more like a tennis court!
Beautiful image with good detail and colour especially with regard to the available light!
David
Barrie
Tim
I agree with Tim, I also quite like the twig on the left, I think it compilments the image as a whole.
Best wishes
Phil
I'm not sure about the twig but a fine image. Love the droplets on the Grebe. Must get out soon to get some Grebe shots myself. After all this is Grebe country
Paul
NL/Rotterdam
I don`t mind the twig on the left so much, but do find my eye drawn by the two behind the Grebe`s bum!
A beauty, great shot one bird that is sadly missing in my files.
Dan
A great image, I think the dull wet overcast weather has really made the detail pop out.
Nice one
Excellent image, great colour and detail in the feathers, soft light always helps in these situations. Only minor nit is the big twig thing on the left is a slight distraction but otherwise this is a super shot and you have really made the most of the poor weather conditons.
cheers
Sean
Sweet shot. I think you've possibly oversharpened a little bit - hence the jaggies.
Look forward to seeing more in the near future
Yes the faint square blocks in the background do look like JPG compression artifacts - there is so much detail in the image it is difficult to squash it all in
Wonder if you have tried image slicing in ImageReady - you can set different compression levels for different parts of an image.
John
that is one Superb picture.
John
Aberdeen