When I finally made it to Lake Martin (east of Lafayette, LA) in 2010, the birds were no longer nesting close to the shore, so good shots were about impossible, and the birds what were close enough were always behind branches. This was about the only decent shot I got, but I loved the surrounding vegetation – much nicer than the roosting areas to be found close to my home.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon 5D2, 600mm, ISO 800, f/9.5. 1/1000 sec., tripod, but not a very good one back then so I kept shutter speeds high. Minimal processing in LR, a big crop, then some fun with Corel Painter. Back to PS for probably a few more tweaks, then B/W conversion and the border.
A lovely dream-like image. The egret has given you the perfect pose and I love the surrounding branches and leaves. The post-production is wonderful, including the border.
Thanks @CharlesV and @glennie! Charles, the blur look is from Corel Painter. I use the clone painting technique where the brush picks up color and detail from the BG and, depending on the characteristics of the brush, smears them around like paint on a brush, getting less as the stroke continues like a brush would when it has left its paint on the canvas. It’s quite eerie.
Unfortunately Painter (or Corel) was going through some issues and I quit using it and fear I have lost my chops. Like PS, it is a huge and complex program and clone painting is a tiny portion of it. Of course, the version I had won’t run on my current computer. I really should look back into it.
Diane, the treatment around the Egret is interesting and lets the bird stand out from the surroundings. Certainly one way to get around the challenge of the “busy” surroundings that are very typical of nesting birds. (For survival of the chicks, hiding or isolating the nest is critical.)
Thanks @David_Bostock, @Mark_Seaver and @peter! Peter pretty well nailed at as a save, although I’ll leave the judgment of how well to the viewer. Here’s the original raw file, the best I could do with the 300mm + 2X I had at the time. One step closer and I would have been in an alligator-infested swamp.
