Great Blue Heron

Keta · Jul 10, 2006

Ok. I may have learned a thing or two (no crooked skylines in the background, I promise! :blushing: )
I cropped the left of the frame off as unnecessary; really like the image of calm water with the closer Heron dipping his beak in. (doesn't the ocean look like a lake here??). The stiff-looking Heron in the background adds a dynamic, I think.
Errors in composition?

I LOVE the Heron in front, with the leg up, really felt skilled at being able to capture that split-second. HATE the placement of the Heron in the background, wish he was to one side or the other just a bit.
Being too picky?

I, personally, have no complaints about this one. What does everyone else think??

The full story: my blog ---> http://ketadesign.typepad.com/storybook/2006/07/last_years_bald.html

LaFoto · Jul 11, 2006

"Complaint" is too much of a word, "observations" there are some, like that the horizon line in Photos 1 and 3 is still a little tilted, which can be corrected easily, I should think, even if you don't have Photoshop. Furthermore I keep wondering if these are scanned prints? They look like it. A bit flat in colours.

If these were my pics, I would crop them even more. Like I'd crop in from below until about 1 cm underneath the shadow of the nearby heron - the calmness of the ocean water would STILL show and focus would be much more easily on the bird. The ripples he is producing by dipping in his beak would also show even more (I think).

In the second I would crop in from all sides to make the actual frame smaller (but still within the sizes of a regular print, maybe) and help the nice lifts-his-leg-up heron become more prominent within the frame. That might mean you have to get rid of what red there is in the background since you cannot crop to closely to that lifts-his-leg-up heron's "nose" ... he still needs some space to "look into" within the frame.

And the last needs horizon rectification, and also a crop, I should think, and a contrast boost.

Just observations here, as I was saying. Actually that is what I would do if these were my pics.

JTHphoto · Jul 11, 2006

i agree with lafoto about the crop for the first shot... i think there is a lot of unnecessary water/foreground there. great captures... :thumbup:

WNK · Jul 11, 2006

As usual, Corinna knows her stuff.

That heron in the foreground of the second one is really fantastic; its reflection is awesome there too.

KenCo · Jul 12, 2006

These are good shots nicely done. Some people don't like cropping there pics and I can understand that but for me if it helps make the pic stronger then I'd try the crop. For me, I think these could still be cropped a little more.
The first from the top and bottom of frame, taking some or the foreground water and the hills in the background out. Then adjusting the levels a little darker to give a bit more mood.
The second from the right and bottom, upto too the heron and reflection.
And the third cropping the green out of the background.....maybe even the bird on the beach.
Just my oppinion and very subjective.
Nice shots as they are anyway.
Ken.

Keta · Jul 12, 2006

They are indeed scanned prints; the colours look like that on the original. I actually learned a lot about light just then, because the third shot is not five minutes after the first two; I was turned so the sun was on my left instead of behind me. Vast difference in colour, there!

mmmm ooooOOOOoo, beginning to understand something . . . I was trying to express the entire scope of what I was seeing when I took the picture (kind of a 360 degree thing) when I should be just taking the direct subject of each shot - sort of like a detail - to give an impression of the whole image. Or something like that (not to get to esoteric, haha!)

I have to agree that these are a LOT better.

Thanks for all the tips, and thanks for bearing with my elementary questions!

mentos_007 · Jul 13, 2006

I like what you did to those shots! the edited are really great!

KenCo · Jul 13, 2006

You did a great job with cropping these...they are very good shots anyway but the crop for me works really well and that second one is very nice.....before you decide try it with the boats from the background still in the frame, I'm not sure I'd take them out but if they don't help the shot.....
Nicely done anyway.
Ken.

Keta · Jul 14, 2006

Thanks you guys! This encouragement is really good for me. :hugs:

I'll be down at low tide again this weekend, hope to have some more tricky shots to discuss!