Ourspolair

A heron caught my attention...
So I used info from PhotonstoPhotos to optimize my ISO on the Sony A7c and then applied a small amount of noise reduction to the images (about 1/6th of the total frame to "optimize" the image. Some of the "SOOC" shots were more than adequate, but I wanted to reduce the brightness of the whites caused by the Sun angle and the fact that the bird had had its head in the water, causing blown-out whites on the head. So basically, these were produced using about 4MP of the 24MP sensor of the A7C.
Lens Tamron 150-500mm. Hand held. 200 ISO or 640 ISO. f numbers available in EXIF, although mostly around f 7.1 to 8.
Comments welcome.

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bajadreamer Loc: Baja California Sur

Sometimes you have to take what you get as far as shooting angle is concerned but IMO these shots would be improved by having a lower POV. You are looking down at the bird; much more "intimate" photo if you are looking eye level. Also, IMO, these would benefit from increasing exposure (brightness) of bird and reducing exposure (darkening) the water and BG. Especially #2 is underexposed significantly. I took the liberty of downloading and making some very crude adjustments in PS. Raised exposure and vibrance of bird and reduced exposure of water and BG. Also applied selective blur to the BG to attempt to make POV appear lower. Anyway, my opinion.

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slcarn Loc: Draper, Utah USA

I really like photographing GBH's and your photos show some classic poses. I do think these particular shots are under exposed. You might want to look into exposure to the right (ETTR) to keep details. If you search that as a subject on UHH you will find some great advice.

I use lightroom which has great masking tools to isolate the subject and adjust it separately from the background. It also allows you to adjust the background without changing the settings on the subject. I find this very useful in bringing out the subjects from the background and turning down the whites and highlights on the subject.

One thing I would suggest is you pay more attention to the horizon. The first photo is on about a 15deg angle sloping to the right. This can easily be corrected when you crop.

Great opportunity with the GBH, I hope you have many more.

Steve

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

I agree with Steve.

Ourspolair

Thank you both for your input. I could not get a lower angle without scaring the bird away, unfortunately.
Regarding exposure, I was not moving further to the right since I wanted to keep the ISO in the low-noise area. Greater exposures were blowing out the whites on the bird's plumage, ant the head had specular highlights caused by it being wet.
I was aiming for minimal manipulation in post as well.
I shall revisit the series and use luminosity masking to improve the contrast between the heron and the background.
If I succeed in making notable improvements, I will repost.
Thanks for your helpful input.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

I agree with Steve. A little PP would really improve them. Sometimes you are stuck with the point view. It would be nice to be lower for all of my bird shots, but sometimes that is not going to happen.
A little underexposed, but that is easy to correct.

Remember, keep your horizon level.

slcarn Loc: Draper, Utah USA

Here's a link to a Steve Perry Video that should help you, and all of us, with getting lower iso shots.

https://youtu.be/7cui2BLI68A

Steve