Sharon Prislipsky, APSA, EPSA
January 2025 - Another Great Blue Heron
Original
About the Image(s)
Everytime I swear I will not take one more GBH photo I come across one I can't delete. What I like about this one is the wing position and the strong diagonal which I think gives a sesne of upward flight.
Canon R5; Canon 100-500mm lens with 1.4 teleconverter.
Settings: ISO 800; 1/2000 sec; f/10
This was actually shot in fairly bright light. I cropped and made a few global adjustment in LR. I also manipulated the Tone Curve the worked on the color balance of the background. I did targeted adjustments in PS. I applied polarazation and pro contrast in Color EFex - I use "natural" but then tweak dynamic contrast. Comments and suggestions will be appreciated,
10 comments posted
Wonderful composition, and excellent detail. That eye is fixed on something ahead; the mystery of what that something is makes a good story. The cool tone in the original looks more natural to my eyes than the warm processed version. The latter has yellow tones in the neck that I have not observed in the few herons I have seen and in other images of herons. Posted: 01/12/2025 02:52:10
Thanks for your comments, Judith. I think you may be right that the image is a little too warm. However, since you mentioned that you have only seen a few Great blue herons I am wondering if you have ever seen one in breeding colors. They have that coloring on the neck during that time, Posted: 01/12/2025 15:13:28
I have not seen breeding herons. Thanks for introducing me to the color change in breeding herons. Because the yellow on the neck in the original was not obvious I assumed it was the result of processing. Posted: 01/12/2025 16:11:13
I can't pass up a GBH either. I like how you cropped this into a square that removed the distractions yet still giving the heron room to move to the right. I think you captured the right moment of flight takeoff giving the wings a beautiful position. The head appears sharp. I think you have done a nice job in muting the background. I think my only suggestion would be to desaturate the green in the background just in front of the feet. Posted: 01/12/2025 21:11:35
Now that you pont it out I see that the yellow-green folaige is the brighter part of the image and it does draw the eye away from the heron. That definitely needs a targetd adjustment. Thanks. Posted: 01/14/2025 15:40:01
Great angle in flight for the Heron with a sharpness and detail to enhance this lovely image. To me the original looks more natural as Judith has stated also which is the one i prefer.
Background nicely muted but i might just tone down the green a bit. Posted: 01/13/2025 22:42:57
Background nicely muted but i might just tone down the green a bit. Posted: 01/13/2025 22:42:57
Thank's Ally. I think ou are correct about the green. Good suggestion. Posted: 01/18/2025 18:26:26
Beautiful image. I'd suggest darkening the background to increase the already good separation between the heron and the background. I might also reduce the luminance of the brighter green area behind the bush as it's the brightest part of the picture.
We have the Great Blues nesting here in S Florida and were lucky to have the opportunity to watch the nesting and hopefully hatching. Posted: 01/14/2025 23:45:44
We have the Great Blues nesting here in S Florida and were lucky to have the opportunity to watch the nesting and hopefully hatching. Posted: 01/14/2025 23:45:44
Nice job getting the entire bird in focus. There is something prehistoric about a GBH, so fun to watch and listen to them in the environment. The only comment that I have is that I like the darker, cooler color of the background in the original image. You might consider masking the background a touch. Wonderful image. Posted: 01/15/2025 19:35:45
Thank's Polly. I believe you all have convinced me that the image needs to be cooled down a bit. Posted: 01/18/2025 18:27:20