Critique shot of heron please

[photocruiser96]

Went out to the local pond this weekend and was fortunate enough to get a few shots of this heron. The murky pond as a background made it a little difficult to get the bird to stand out of the background.

Thanks.

[MattyB]

why does the blackest part of the bird's shadow look all pixelated? :\
looks like a pretty old bird, lol, would've liked a more moving background over than just water, but i like it, looks natural and undisturbed

[Matatazela]

Nice shot, and very close at that! Maybe a polariser would have cut down on the reflection off the water and made a more interesting colour.

BTW - what heron is that?

[robertwgross]

It's a Great Blue Heron.

The contrast seems to be a little loud to my taste.

---Bob Gross---

[l bo]

Is he injured, looks like he's bleeding? What's the red/white thing near his wing and red color from? Looks like a fishing bobber and hook is stuck in him?

Nice shot considering how shy they are, I get some around here but they fly away if you make the wrong move.

[photocruiser96]

Thanks for the replies. I believe this Great Blue Heron may have been an older bird. He did not seem to be injured as he flew across the pond and was walking around the shallows with no problems. However, I too noticed the ruffled area of his feathers, but could see no obvious signs of fish hooks, etc. Something may have chewed him a little in the not too distant past.

He allowed me to get fairly close, but kept a buffer zone of about 5 meters. I think he was more preoccupied by dinner. There was a young girl fishing from the bank a short distance from us that kept catching small fish and tossing them in his direction.

The polarizer is a good suggestion, I have one for this lens, but had just grabbed the camera and left it at home. I was concerned about the background as there were a number of ducks & geese in the pond that kept swimming through the frame. When I took a lower angle these birds and a busy background seemed a little distracting.

I tried processing the RAW file and toning down the contrast a little and here is the repost. What I really need is a good course in RAW file processing and Photoshop. Not sure I even know enough about digital darkroom skills to be dangerous.

[Viking Joe]

The first pic was better. I tried to get a picture of one the other night but was having a horrible time getting the light right. By the time I got ready to shoot, the bird took off. Nice shot.

[neil_r]

I would have included the full shaddow.


N

[Hellashot]

Overall it's too dark, and not sharp enough.