Little Blue Heron Reverse Silhouette

[Dennis_Plank]

This is a shot from a Mike Ramy excursion on the St. Johns river of Florida in 2016. I’m pretty sure I posted this image on the old NPN at the time without going to silhouette, but the background was so dark I thought I’d take it all the way for this challenge. I’ll also post the original so you can see where I started.

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, f/8, 1/3200, iso 500, manual exposure. For reprocessing, I took the background way down with an exposure adjustment layer in PS, then took the shadows down in LR to really make it black. I used an adjustment layer in PS to bring the whites up on the selected bird and perch. The selection wasn’t the best (I used the one I already had from 4 years ago), so I used white and black brushes to clean it up. Original taken March 23rd, 2016 at 5:04 pm (just an hour and a half off from exactly four years ago, neglecting time zones).

If you would like your image to be eligible for a feature on the NPN Instagram (@NaturePhotoNet), add the tag ‘ig’ and leave your Instagram username below.

[Harley_Goldman]

It sure nicely takes the image into the abstract painterly look quite effectively. I like both versions.

[Mark_Seaver]

Dennis, the original is a fine look at the Egret. The silhouette stands out well as a graphic. Nicely done.

[linda_mellor]

Great idea Dennis. I like the graphic version, almost looks like a woodcut print.

[David_Schoen]

Good idea and out-of-the-box thinking on this challenge for this image. I like it.