Night Herons - Series with Edit

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

VenturaNightHeronSubAdult-(2)
VenturaNightHeronSubAdult-(2)1626×2000 1010 KB

Re-Edited Version Yellow-Crowned

VenturaNightHeronSubAdult.jpg
VenturaNightHeronSubAdult.jpg1626×2000 979 KB

Original Version Yellow-Crowned

BolsaBlackCrowned.jpg
BolsaBlackCrowned.jpg1478×2000 822 KB

Black Crowned

BolsaPaleNightHeron.jpg
BolsaPaleNightHeron.jpg2000×1582 973 KB

Leucistic

Critique Style Requested: Standard

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

Description

These are a series of night herons that I’ve taken over the last year or so. The first is from our local pond and is a young yellow-crowned night heron. I really liked the gnarled tree branches around its perch. The second is a black-crowned night heron from Bolsa Chica Preserve, and the third is a leucistic night heron, also from Bolsa Chica Preserve. I’d never seen a leucistic night heron before.

Specific Feedback

Crops and composition, clarity and sharpness, etc. Any help is appreciated.

Technical Details

  1. Canon 7DMii, f10, 1/1600s, iso 800, -0.3EV, 348 mm
  2. Canon 60D, f11, 1/400s, iso 320, -0.7EV, 400 mm
  3. Canon 60D, f10, 1/320s, iso 640, -0.7EV, 400 mm.

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2

All these are nice images Ed. I like the scraggly branches below the bird in the first image; the one foot pose in the second; and the contrast with environmental aspect of the third. Nice exposure and sharpness on each.

I’m not too fond of the branch intersecting the bird in the first image. With one swipe of the remove tool in Photoshop I did this rework below:

VenturaNightHeronSubAdult - AS edit
VenturaNightHeronSubAdult - AS edit1626×2000 1.59 MB

1 Like
3

Man, that worked really well! @Allen_Sparks. That’s great. Thank you.

4

Hi Ed
All three photographs are good, but #1, is telling me a story. The bare branches, blend nicely with the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron feathers and the tucked in head just added to this youth’s out look on life.
Peter

5

All look pretty good and I like the stick removed from Allen’s edit of photo #1. Well done…Jim

6

Very nice images! And an amazing stick removal!! That suggests some discreet removal of a few more branches and tips – just enough to clean up some of the clutter.

7

Thank you @Peter_Morrissey :slightly_smiling_face:. Thank you @Jim_Zablotny, and @Diane_Miller. Sorry to be so slow in this response. The trip to Arizona with my son was great! I went ahead and tried to do some judicious cloning out of the extra branches in the first image as demonstrated by @Allen_Sparks and recommended by Jim and Diane. I think it is a much cleaner image overall. I did like the original with the wrap around branches too, but it is very busy.

1 Like
8

Wonderful!! There’s a tiny glitch on the edge of the green blob but the rest looks perfect!

1 Like
9

Hi Ed, you mentioned you cloned in the repost. Do have Photoshop? The remove tool is awesome and should also be considered in this type of editing.

10

Thanks @Allen_Sparks, I have Photoshop Elements, but not Photoshop. I usually use Spot Healing Brush to remove these kinds of items.