Anne Sandler
May 2025 - Untitled
About the Image(s)
Attached is this month's picture. Details:
300mm, Tamron 18-300 lens
Fuji XT3
Shutter Priority
1/1000 second
F/8.0
This was taken last month. April is my yearly visit to a gully between two shopping centers where egrets and herons nest in a tree. It's fun to watch the birds as they fly, leaving their partner in the nest as they gather twigs. They fly back with one twig in their beaks. The nester is waiting for the twig. I don't know the distance between the area where we sit and the tree, but it's a stretch for my lens. I count on Topaz and a lot of cropping. While this is from this year, I think I may have shared previous years' images with you.
3 comments posted
Anne,
This is an excellent bird photo-large bird in flight, crisp exposure, and the bird is engaged in an activity. A very nice nature image. Posted: 05/07/2025 00:45:40
This is an excellent bird photo-large bird in flight, crisp exposure, and the bird is engaged in an activity. A very nice nature image. Posted: 05/07/2025 00:45:40
Diana Edelman
Anne,
Your annual observation of egret behavior has allowed you to know what you wanted to capture in your image. Well done. I feel there is more of the tree's foliage than is necessary for us to understand the bird's location; I would suggest you crop some on the bottom and then also a little of the sky. The bird still looks a little out of focus; did you reach your limit in Topaz before it became over-sharpened or could you do a little more? Also, I would try the global clarity slider in Lightroom to add more definition to the bird and leaves.
WE cannot see how much difference your editing has made, unfortunately. What happened to the original? Posted: 05/07/2025 01:25:01
Your annual observation of egret behavior has allowed you to know what you wanted to capture in your image. Well done. I feel there is more of the tree's foliage than is necessary for us to understand the bird's location; I would suggest you crop some on the bottom and then also a little of the sky. The bird still looks a little out of focus; did you reach your limit in Topaz before it became over-sharpened or could you do a little more? Also, I would try the global clarity slider in Lightroom to add more definition to the bird and leaves.
WE cannot see how much difference your editing has made, unfortunately. What happened to the original? Posted: 05/07/2025 01:25:01
Erin Lamb
Terrific shot of the Egret carrying nesting materials, Anne.
I agree about cropping off some of the green leaves and also some sky.
The white of the bird has taken on a blue cast. I think whitening the feathers might make for better contrast as well as the clarity slider. Perhaps a bit of dehaze would help, too.
You clearly have taken advantage of your ability to observe the bird behavior.
Posted: 05/09/2025 16:01:20
I agree about cropping off some of the green leaves and also some sky.
The white of the bird has taken on a blue cast. I think whitening the feathers might make for better contrast as well as the clarity slider. Perhaps a bit of dehaze would help, too.
You clearly have taken advantage of your ability to observe the bird behavior.
Posted: 05/09/2025 16:01:20