Maria Small  

I’d Like to Have Those Nice Colors... by Maria Small

March 2025 - I’d Like to Have Those Nice Colors...

About the Image(s)

I took this image of a White-faced Ibis and a Black-necked Stilt last November at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. I like how I captured the expression on the small bird’s face glancing at the Ibis who had its wings all spread out. The stilt seemed to be admiring the beautiful colors of the Ibis’ feathers.
Shot the image with my Sony A7III. Settings were F 6.3, 1/1000 s, ISO 640, 352 mm.
I cropped to get rid of some of the distracting background in Photoshop, then adjusted the brightness of the two birds and increased contrast, vibrance. I removed a lot of the vegetation to minimize its distracting effect on the background, blurred it and adjusted the color of th
pond to make it bluer. I find the beaks of the birds to be soft so I sharpened them. I like the moment that I captured here between these two birds, and how the Ibis has his wings spread out in all their splendor.
Will appreciate suggestions on what to do differently when shooting a moment such as thi
and PP.

5 comments posted

Richard Goldenberg   Richard Goldenberg
Maria - You captured a wonderful moment between these two birds. The extended wings of the Ibis and the look on the Stilt's face are both glorious. Your image is fantastic and I don't have any suggestions for improving it. But if you haven't already done so, you might consider generating more than one image from your original. I uploaded more of a closeup on the heads of the birds. While the Ibis' wings are glorious, they may draw attention away from the two heads, which almost seem to be in conversation. This closeup looses some of the majesty of the extended wings, but may emphasis the conversation. Just a thought.   Posted: 03/10/2025 17:22:21
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Maria Mazo   Maria Mazo
Hi Maria,

You have captured a nice interaction between these two birds. I especially like the facial expression of the black-necked stilt as it glances at the ibis's display. The amount of detail is exquisite, allowing us to appreciate the beautiful iridescence of the ibis's feathers.

I agree with Richard's suggestion about cropping tighter, as it removes more of the empty space that competes with the birds' interaction, even if it means sacrificing part of the ibis's wings.   Posted: 03/12/2025 10:43:43
Bruce Benson   Bruce Benson
Good comments on your capture of the interaction of the two birds. I have provided different crop for you to consider that eliminates the empty space not adding to the composition but not cropping the wings of the ibis. Bruce   Posted: 03/12/2025 11:33:52
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Dr Isaac Vaisman   Dr Isaac Vaisman
Maria, nice image specially because the interaction of two different species of birds, each minding their own business. Image is sharp. I like Bruce's crop and just added some light and saturation to the Ibis so the real colors and details in the feathers show better.   Posted: 03/15/2025 15:58:48
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Adrian Binney   Adrian Binney
Hi Maria - you have captured a lovely moment here well done. There is so much detail and colour of the feathers in the Ibis.

I think we all agree that a tighter crop is best for the image and I also like Bruce's suggestion. I also agree that the Ibis as presented is a tad dark and I would lighten the shadows of it (only), but probably not lighting it as much as Isaac has suggested. All very personal preferences, but I like to finish with a believable end result.

Lovely image.   Posted: 03/21/2025 17:48:51

 

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