Nest building season for the Great Blue Herons. This one made numerous trips and on the last one, I shot, he flew directly overhead and this shot is full frame. I did add some extra sky for more lead out room.
Type of Critique Requested
- Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
- Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
this is one of my favorite GBH shots and trust me, I have hundreds. I’m open to any suggestions.
Technical Details
D500, 200-500 @200mm, f/8, 1/3200, ISO 400
3 Likes
A great, dynamic photo and well-composed!
1 Like
Hey Chris! Thanks for kicking us off.
First, I absolutely love the composition on this as it gives us a bird’s eye view and takes us right into their world. Well done!
Second, after tracking its behavior, you nailed the moment when it enters the frame and tells the story of the birds focus and intent. It puts the focus on the eye and the nesting material.
Third, for me the sky is a tad too blue and I would love to see the wings be a bit more dynamic…maybe a touch more black? Or blue? depending on how you like it. Also, editing is hard to comment on as we all look on different monitors and different brightness settings.
Fourth, given that you have plenty light and are using a low ISO, maybe bump that ISO up and play around with different F stops to see what else you can bring out in the image. Is there more detail that might come out of the underside of those wings? The D500 is a great camera but can also be tricky to edit the darks so underexpose but not too much.
Overall, I think you nailed it, you showed me an image I haven’t seen before and you took us into the bird’s world. For me that is a big win!
2 Likes
