Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Spent an hour watching this Heron at the local Wilderness Park in the late afternoon on a cool overcast day. It tolerated my presence from 10-20 yards and went about a slow stalking stillness . It spent 15 stationary minutes before finally striking down and came up with a plump and struggling gopher. Have seen lizards and snakes fall to the beak in the meadow but a gopher was a first for me.
Specific Feedback
I can have a difficult time processing the green grasses . Seem to always look too saturated . I like the grass color and mix in image 1 and 4…not so much 2 and 3.
Technical Details
Nikon Z 5, with Nikkor 200-500 lens f5,6 at 1/500 1600 ISO
Critique Template
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Vision and Purpose:
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Really nice look at the heron in its envirionment, Stephen. As for the grass, my initial thought was how well it worked with the heron. You might darken the second grass and see how it looks. The detail in all four shots looks spot on.
A nice series of this heron, Stephen. I particularly like the little fiber hanging from the beak in all the frames. I do wish that round of wood weren’t in number 2 as it looks very formal, like a chopped off telephone pole. None of the greens really bother me as they’re all within the range of grass tones I see.
Thank you both, @Allen_Brooks @Dennis_Plank for comments and input. The sawed off phone poles Dennis are the parking stumps next to a gravel parking lot. Had to work around them and mostly shoot through the open spaces, as the Heron did not stray to far from them . I kind of liked this one , thinking it helped give some depth to the image against the soft focus grasses in the background.
Hi Stephen, nice series. I always find it interesting to find a great blue hunting away from water. Details and colors look good to me including the grass in each image. I could see having more room in front in image 2 and 3. Did you get a shot of the bird with the gopher?
You’ve captured a gorgeous bird giving you some lovely poses.
I, too, have trouble with the greeness of some grasses. I think you’ve done very well. I do wonder about the White Balance in #1 and #4. They seem a little on the magenta side? I also wonder if you have slightly more canvas on the bottom edges to allow for “virtual” legs?
A lovely series.
Thanks for the comments and input @Allen_Sparks, @Glenys_Passier. Glenys, you have a keen eye. the WB tint was increased to a warmer level, not sure why but probably working on my personal adjustments to the grass color tones, I dropped it back and the slight magenta was removed and grass colors came back a bit and I liked it better. So thank you again. On many of the Heron images I shot the bottom of the frame does seem to be pinched and that is “operator error” and has a lot to do with wearing glasses and shooting through the viewfinder, where I can’t easily see the entire image format. A bane and stress point when I see the image in processing. More evident in action subjects.
Allen I agree on the tightness of the image in front of the birds face. There were some more pole stumps present and I did 't like the look. And yes I got a few shots of the gopher’s last moments. I am going to post them with a second batch of shots .
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