Blue Heron in the Bayou - Repost

Cropped:

Generative Fill to Eliminate OOF Tree and Stumps:

Original:

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

While on a workshop at Caddo Lake in Texas, I captured this image of a great blue heron from a pontoon boat. It was on the move, and my options were limited as far as composition. I fired off several shots as the heron was moving through the cypress trees, and the boat was moving to keep it in sight. I consider this image the best one among the many I captured. I mainly do landscape photography, where I have the time to explore the space around the subject and choose the composition. In this case, I was constrained by the position of the boat and the unpredictable movement of the subject.

Specific Feedback

Although I am very satisfied with this image, the fact that the subject is centered in the frame bothers me a little. This is the uncropped version of the image. I am mainly looking for feedback on whether cropping would improve the composition, but feedback in any other areas would also be welcome.

Technical Details

Camera: Nikon Z7ii
Lens: Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S, with Z TC-2.0x
Lens Focal Length: 400mm
Exposure: 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2500
Hand held
Processed with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop


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Keith, this is a nice catch, especially given the conditions you mention. I love the cypress and the swamp vegetation. The heron is tack-sharp, very tough from a boat.
The OOF trees on the left are a bit of a distraction, althought do give context.
I’d suggest trying a tighter crop, leaving only the tips of the left stumps, then cloning them out.
Maybe something like this?

See what you think…
Really nice image with excellent environment!

Hi Keith, nice environmental shot. I love seeing these birds among the cypress trees. While the oof tree and knees in the left foreground provide framing, I do like Sandy’s crop suggestion with more of an open view to the left

I love the swamp view with this GBH Keith. This is really cool. I also like @SandyR-B’s proposed crop and clone. The dark tree trunks with the moss and green foliage interspaced make a really n ice setting, and the water plants provide context too.

Excellent environmental image. The swamp and cypress trees would make for a nice image by itself; the heron is a great addition. I like @SandyR-B 's crop as there is more emphasis on the heron while still maintaining a sense of the environment.

Hi Keith: I was going to suggest that the heron’s pose would make a crop difficult because it would emphasize the out of focus foreground more, but that was my lack of imagination. Sandy’s crop letting the heron look out of the frame left enough room there and eliminated the pesky out of focus foreground.

Sandy, I like what you did with the crop. I was afraid of cropping the left side because I didn’t want the heron to be looking out of the frame. But looking at your edit, it doesn’t look that bad. Thanks for taking the time to suggest this.

Thanks to everyone who responded with comments. It seems that everyone has positive feedback on @SandyR-B 's crop edit, so I’m going to go with that! I also created a version where I used generative fill to eliminate the out of focus tree and stumps just for fun.

Hi Keith
This is a very nice photograph and you have already received a great deal of comments. My only remaining comment, was the Blue was rather bright. I used Sandy’s crop and a couple of control points in DXO PhotoLab 8, to bring out some color and reduce the overall brightness.
Peter

Good point, Peter. The dark surroundings of the tree trunk probably caused the auto exposure to overexpose the heron.