Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My journey into photography began with digiscoping birds using an old Nikon Coolpix 880. As I fell away from birdwatching because of issues with my hearing (I could no longer identify birds by sound, and when I went deaf in one ear I couldn’t echolocate anymore.), I started photographing the scenery where I was birding and that led to my interest in landscapes. Nevertheless, I do enjoy the beauty of birds, especially when they are a part of the landscape; it’s the best of both worlds. On my bucket list is to eventually mortgage the house pick up a bird-worthy lens.
Once in a while though, birds wander through the landscapes I’m photographing. I posted another image of this Great Egret a little while back in the Landscape Forum, and @Diane_Miller suggested I post this one here in the Avian Forum. Since I don’t get to play much here, I figured I’d do that.
Specific Feedback
From the landscape perspective, the sticks and reflections intrigued me. Do you think they make a supportive setting for the egret, or is it too disconnected?
Diane suggested removing the bubbles that collided with the bill. Would you recommend that too?
Technical Details
NIKON Z 7II
NIKKOR Z 24-200 f/4-6.3 VR at 200 mm
1/160 sec. at f/16 and ISO 1600
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3 Likes
OK!!! It’s delightful to see you here! I think this is simply gorgeous! Wonderful setting and composition with fantastic reflections, and great detail in lights and darks. I’m interested in how others feel about the bubbles, but I’d remove them, at least the parts that actually touch the head/beak. The pixel-peeper in me sees two tiny dark areas right on the right edge and one (just a subtle reflection) on the left. But they are so minor for this lovely image that I’m not even going to mention them!
I also have hearing problems, now exacerbated by old-age high-frequency loss, and can’t locate or ID anything by calls. I’m not a birder, by any means (wish I was!) but I find them beautiful and fun subjects.
I like the sticks, John. They make nice supporting characters. The bubbles by the bill don’t bother me, but I’m trying to figure out whether the white above the head is plumage or bubbles? Other than that minor issue,I like this as posted.
P.S. Almost everyone in Avian is now using the super-zooms. While they don’t have the light gathering capacity of the primes, the image quality is so close that it is indistinguishable except in controlled tests and noise is no longer an issue in most branches of photography. And the price (and weight) is a small fraction of the primes.
Thank you @Diane_Miller and @Dennis_Plank! Those are feathers at the top of the head. I’ll play with removing them and the bubbles touching the bill to compare.
Ack! I didn’t catch those. (Sloppy cropping…) Thanks!
Do you mean a lens like the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR? (I’ve had my eye on that lens for awhile now. I find myself using longer focal lengths for landscape, and it would at times be handy there too.)
Actually, I was thinking more in the lines of the Nikon 180-600 if you’re a Nikon shooter, but if the birds you’re usually interested in are large, like the egret, 28-400 would be more than adequate. Lots of folks in Florida go with a 300 mm for all the large waders down there. I shoot Sony and use their 200-600. Before I changed to mirrorless, I used the Sigma 150-600 with a Canon crop sensor camera and sometimes a 300 f/4 with or without a 1.4 TC on a full frame for larger birds.
1 Like
I don’t know the Nikon ecosystem, but for me (Cannon) the ability to add a TC gives wonderful flexibility. With the newer systems there is almost no loss of sharpness, and what there is can be offset with the new software. I love my Canon 100-500 and it is usually attached via a 2X. I love having 1000mm (on a full frame) that I can handhold! The loss of speed (f/13 wide open) is hardly an issue with today’s sensors and NR.
Wonderful ideas @Dennis_Plank and @Diane_Miller. Now, do you have any suggestions on how to convince SWMBO that these purchases are essential to emotional well being? 
Can’t help you with that one, John. Luckily my wife an I got married in our 50’s and set up mad funds that get an infusion every month. Mine is used almost exclusively for photo gear and never gets super large, while hers keeps accumulating.
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There must be an online support group for this very significant emotional need.
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Hi John, love the image and agree the sticks in that calm water add a lot. I could go either way on removing the bubbles by the bill. They don’t really bother me but that edit could be worth a look. Really nice pose and reflections - well done.
This is a very pleasing scene, John. I like the composition and the egret is nicely photographed with a nice reflection. Agree with Diane about removing the bubbles near the beak. Allen Sparks is getting outstanding images with a crop sensor camera and a relatively inexpensive zoom lens, so you don’t need to break the bank to photograph birds.
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