Pamela Hoaglund
February 2025 - Lunch Time
Original
About the Image(s)
I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to catch this great blue heron just as he caught a salamander. Just after capturing this image he flew down to the canal to wash the salamander and eat it. Taken with my Sony 7RM5, Sony 200-600mm lens at 600mm. Auto ISO at 640, 1/2000 sec, f/6.3 and EV +1. Post processed in ON1 RAW 2025. Cropped to a square, removed some distracting elements. Added dynamic contrast and sharpening to the heron. And I think I added a slight vignette. I have been trying the Brilliance AI which is an auto develop adjustment. Sometimes it does a good job for a starting point and at other times it doesn't help.
10 comments posted
Nice image. I'm not aware of Brilliance AI. Is that the name of a program or one filter inside another program? I like your handling of the tonality. I might want to see this as a more aggressive crop and zero in on the upper part and head of the heron with its prey. I think that might yield a more dynamic image. Posted: 02/06/2025 10:46:12
Thanks for your suggestion Mike. Brilliance AI is in the develop module of ON1 RAW. It is similar to auto mode that is in Photoshop. Brilliance AI auto adjusts the tone and color settings but also produces masks for different areas of the image. It can be a good starting point but like everything "auto" it doesn't always give a good result. In the case you turn it off and do all the adjustments manually. If you use Brillance AI you can still tweak the adjustments it did. Posted: 02/11/2025 05:25:18
Great action shot. There are two images here. As Mike pointed out a closer crop would magnify the action, yet as you presented it we see the whole bird in his environment. I am always torn by this decision. The background tan and blue are repeated in the bird for a lovely effect. The parallel strips of grass and water and the intersecting perpendicular heron neck are good compositional elements. What is Brilliance AI? Posted: 02/10/2025 21:12:01
Thanks Judith. See my reply to Mike on Brillance AI. Posted: 02/11/2025 05:26:42
Thanks Judith. See my reply to Mike on Brillance AI. Posted: 02/12/2025 20:46:20
Thanks Judith. See my reply to Mike on Brillance AI. Posted: 02/14/2025 17:54:10
I think you captured a good nature story in this image. Technically, it looks to me like your exposure and focus were spot on. I am not sure about the square crop, however. To me this seems to work better as a portrait orientation with less space behind the heron than you currently have, and allowing some space in front of the subject. I lke the tonality and the colors are complementary in my opinon. Posted: 02/12/2025 15:07:27
I love this image, great capture of the GBH with salamander. Personally, I like seeing the entire bird, I think that GBHs are beautiful and the blue water and dried grasses enhance the plumage colors. I like seeing the canal and foliage around the bird, it gives the image context. The only suggestion I have is to decrease/remove the bright green leaves, lower right. I find them a bit distracting. Sharon's suggestion of a portrait orientation would also work well. Posted: 02/12/2025 19:33:23
Very nice image and like the toned down background which makes the Heron (& its lunch) stand out. I also like the textured grass in focus in the foreground offering contrast with the blurred background. I think for me i would have cropped in slightly from the RHS and removed the green leaves that Polly has suggested. Posted: 02/14/2025 18:33:42
Very nice image with your settings technically sound. I believe that the square crop in this image works fairly well as this is a very large bird standing straight up. Colors and tonality work well.
I can also see the value a a tight crop with the head and lizard (as your background is well separated from the head area). Posted: 02/15/2025 21:30:33
I can also see the value a a tight crop with the head and lizard (as your background is well separated from the head area). Posted: 02/15/2025 21:30:33