Piers Blackett
November 2024 - Egret Landing
Original
Original 2
About the Image(s)
The dry weather has continued here and both egrets and herons stay close to a receding water's edge. This shot of an egret choosing a suitable hunting spot was taken close to sunset and slightly backlit.
1/5000, ISO 2000, f/7.1 using center-weighted metering. Standard cropping to give direction, denoise, spot removal, and tonal adjustments were done in CR to try to bring out the golden backlighting on the wings. I tried a high key effect but prefer the first image result.
8 comments posted
Perfection! I love how you capture this egret with his wings spreed wide open and just lifting off. The backlighting is excellent in providing all the details in this birds wings. Very nice! Posted: 11/03/2024 21:28:32
Thanks. Mostly luck but challenging. Posted: 11/04/2024 20:44:37
Very nice image, Piers. This is truly the personification of a "soft landing". I love the backlit wings which provides so much detail in all the feathers. The square crop still provides enough space for the bird to be flying "into" the frame. I like the high key variation (original 1) because it lessens the excess dark at the bottom. Nice touch!
On a technical note, there appears to be a bit of a halo around the Egrets legs/feet, likely caused by excess sliders of Clarity or Dehaze.
Very nice image.
Posted: 11/04/2024 19:32:06
On a technical note, there appears to be a bit of a halo around the Egrets legs/feet, likely caused by excess sliders of Clarity or Dehaze.
Very nice image.
Posted: 11/04/2024 19:32:06
Thanks Jim for your comments and for pointing out an obvious flaw. I have been tending to use both clarity and dehaze very slightly - however missed the haze around the legs. To correct I brushed in a reverse dehaze which only had a slight effect. I then brushed in a reverse with de-shadow and black sliders to complete the job. I think the effect may also have been over-zealous de-shadowing. All this could have been accentuated by having shot in low light - something I have been trying to do. Posted: 11/04/2024 20:43:26
Here is my revision. Posted: 11/04/2024 21:22:45
Ditto to all the comments, but my poor eyes would never have noticed. Perhaps your monitors are larger than mine! Thanks for the lesson on reverse brushing because I frequently have the same issue. Beautiful bird! Posted: 11/05/2024 00:55:49
Great picture with great timing! My only thought is to increase the exposure a bit. Posted: 11/06/2024 18:29:20
A beautiful image, Piers.
What is particularly striking about this image is the lighting and composition. The bright white feathers are captured in great detail, and each individual feather in the wings can be seen. I love the reflection of the bird's legs in the water below, and the background is soft, misty `that makes the white bird stand out dramatically. The shoreline visible at the bottom of the frame provides a nice grounding element to the otherwise ethereal scene. Well done Posted: 11/19/2024 01:08:27
What is particularly striking about this image is the lighting and composition. The bright white feathers are captured in great detail, and each individual feather in the wings can be seen. I love the reflection of the bird's legs in the water below, and the background is soft, misty `that makes the white bird stand out dramatically. The shoreline visible at the bottom of the frame provides a nice grounding element to the otherwise ethereal scene. Well done Posted: 11/19/2024 01:08:27