Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS  

Heron In Rain Amazon by Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS

April 2025 - Heron In Rain Amazon

April 2025 - Adrian Binney, PPSA, LRPS

Original

About the Image(s)

Yes we encountered rain within the Amazon rain forest! No surprise! It didn’t last long. We were in a small craft (about 6 others) low to water in a lake type area just off the main Chanel which has ocean sized goods ships (as well as our cruse ship) passing a few hundred yards away, but it was a quiet, rural oasis full of birds. It also had a floating hamlet where we had lunch! In the dry season, the area is all mud - horrendous for them to get home! I selected this due to the evident rain. Settings: Taken using the Olympus wildlife gear that I was comfortable to take on a “canoe with a motor”! So not my fastest (expensive) lens! At the maximum reach of the 100-400 f5-6.3 lens (ff 800mm) at 1/500 f6.3 and 2,500 ISO. PP in Lightroom - Noise Reduction first, then after cropping to a square to have the bottom of the foliage emerging from bottom left corner and plenty of space to tell the rain story. PP locally on the bird - then use of Clarity in the rainy area to make that more visible.

8 comments posted

Bruce Benson   Bruce Benson
Hey Adrian, I really envy your travels to exotic places for photography. Your bird looks quite similar to my little green heron I posted this month. I might suggest either burning some of the bright bushes on the right side or as I show in my example to just crop off some of it making the bird more prominent in the scene. I realize that you may not have enough resolution to crop but burning would also do the trick. Of course this is only a suggestion for you to consider. Bruce   Posted: 04/05/2025 18:24:01
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Adrian Binney   Adrian Binney
Many thanks Bruce. I rather like the heron looking out forlornly out into space with the rain belting down - it's not a close up of the bird.   Posted: 04/05/2025 18:49:33
Bruce Benson   Bruce Benson
Good point, The variety of views makes our hobby more interesting. I am always learning by seeing others thoughts on images. Bruce   Posted: 04/07/2025 19:15:23
Jerry Biddlecom   Jerry Biddlecom
I like your story about the bird being in a pensive mood, mostly because of the dreary weather -- here, you carry it off well. Sort of like one of us gazing out the window during a rain storm. This will betray my bias toward playing around with an image, but perhaps removing a lot of the foliage surrounding the bird's upper torso will allow more of the bird to be emphasized. Just a thought ...   Posted: 04/16/2025 15:21:04
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Adrian Binney   Adrian Binney
Thanks Jerry - I like that, but that's too cleaver for me (don't use Photoshop).   Posted: 04/16/2025 16:14:21
Steve Cole   Steve Cole
Adrian, Yes a nice capture with the foliage and the rain gives a feel of a tropic location as it was. Perhaps selecting and taking down the exposure on the bright leaves on the right and foliage where it sits might enhance a bit.   Posted: 04/18/2025 13:00:42
Adrian Binney   Adrian Binney
Thanks Steve - I will look at that.   Posted: 04/18/2025 15:00:50
Cindy Marple   Cindy Marple
Adrian, I like the mood created with the shower of rain. Good choice of shutter speed that gives streaks instead of dots, that really makes a difference to create the mood.
I like the slightly darker versions where the rain stands out more against the darker vegetation.
I'm with you on more space to convey the mood. Did you consider a vertical crop? Looking at the original one thing that stood out to me is the sense that it's up high on the limb. The vertical would keep that part of the story.   Posted: 04/20/2025 00:05:24
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