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Old Yellow Stockings


Old Yellow Stockings
Photo Information
Copyright: John Plumb (JPlumb) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 618 W: 158 N: 896] (2904)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-04-05
Categories: Birds
Camera: Nikon D200, NIKKOR AF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 ED DX VR
Exposure: f/11, 1/90 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2007-06-04 19:16
Viewed: 3960
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 36
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I saw this White Faced Heron near the footbridge to Griffith’s Island at Port Fairy, though I’ve seen them just about everywhere we’ve been in Australia. This one just happened to be closer to me, with better light than many of the others.

These are the most common Heron found in Australia. They are found throughout the mainland and Tasmania, and most coastal islands. The can also be found in Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand. They can be found almost anywhere where this is water, from tidal flats and coastal reefs to moist grasslands.

They feed on fish, insects and amphibians. They can obtain it in various ways, such as walking and disturbing their prey, or by simply standing in or by the water and watching for movement.

The breed mainly from October to December but can breed at other times in response to rainfall. Both sexes share the building of the nest, incubation of the eggs and care of the young. The nest is an untidy structure of sticks, placed in a tree. Normally one brood of three to four is raised in a year.

Most of this from: http://www.amonline.net.au/factSheets/white_faced_heron.htm
ID from: Simpson K. and Day N. (2004), Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Penguin Books, Camberwell.

Workflow for this shot was as follows:
Shot in Raw - Adjusted NEF shadows and highlights
Adjusted levels – very slight
Adjusted curves – “S curve” for contrast
Used overlay layer with 5% opacity brush for “burning and dodging”, used 10% for eye
Over applied Smart Sharpen on a separate layer
Used layer mask to tone it down for selective sharpening (mostly on the water and rocks)
Saved as tiff
Cropped, reduced image size, re-sharpened (slight), framed and saved as jpeg for this post
deblink, kjpweb, gypsygirl58, blakitan, Jamesp, Argus, horia, MMM, mlines, pablominto, pierrefonds has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Bonita toma con colores muy reales. Saludos John.

Well I haven't seen one of these Heron's yet John. It is beautiful and so is your image of it. It was so nice of it to pose so well for you. All the detail can be seen so well. Just superb.
Cheers,
Debbie

  • Great 
  • trinko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 587 W: 78 N: 322] (4321)
  • [2007-06-04 21:06]

nice pose and focus. water ripples are a nice backdrop

  • Great 
  • kjpweb Gold Star Critiquer [C: 326 W: 86 N: 1084] (4788)
  • [2007-06-04 21:47]

Great shot! Especially since it's a heron - that can't be found here in the US and these animals being my favorite "Prey".
Mixed feelings on the postwork though. The bird itself looks as if having a slightly soft focus - and using all the sharpening there is appropriate - for the beautiful water and the rocks it seems a bit much however (imho).
Good image nevertheless.

Hi John,
Lovely capture of this Heron! They are a beautiful bird aren't they. I was lucky enough to have one hanging around my back yard for a while. I like the rocks and water and seeing it in its natural habitat. Good sharpness and details. TFS
Cheers Tina :-)

  • Great 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 636 W: 93 N: 1243] (4195)
  • [2007-06-05 1:19]

Hi John,
Great shot in a nice natural setting. I like the composition and your POV. Nice focus with excellent details. Outstanding job managing the exposure so as not to over expose the white face yet get good light throughout frame.
Ken

Hi John,
Superb shot, sharp and neat, lovely natural colors.
Very interesting pattern of light on water surface at BG.

BL

  • Great 
  • Jamesp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1369 W: 9 N: 6334] (18906)
  • [2007-06-05 4:17]

Hi John

I have seen lots of these in Australia ad they are really nice birds.

The context is really good - and typical. Focus a little soft - but that may be my screen (I get things ok, upload and then look on my other PC and think - that could be better).

James

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1772 W: 36 N: 5597] (18598)
  • [2007-06-05 6:09]

Hi John,
Splendid shot of this elegant heron. Perfect lighting, colours, sharpness and focus. Looking out for food I suppose. Excellent POV to portray it. The water and the rocks illustrates the habitat well. Very nicely composed. Kudos.
TFS.
Sumon

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2007-06-05 6:29]

Hello John,
Fine shot of a White-faced Heron, evoking happy memories of seeing this species fairly close to in Manly.
Great POV and sharpness and excellent BG composed of rippled water in this fine presentation.
TFS and best wishes, Ivan

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2158 W: 224 N: 4749] (16656)
  • [2007-06-05 7:06]

Hi John

Another very beautiful photo from you and a splendid pose captured from this White-faced heron!
The details and colors hhere are lovely and well managed and the POV is very nice.
The ripples on the surface of the water are also gorgeous and add to the overall composition.

Bravo and TFS
Horia

  • Great 
  • MMM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1114 W: 0 N: 2546] (11425)
  • [2007-06-05 10:43]

Hi John
Nice capture of that heron.POV and composition are very nice.The image is sharp and colors are nice.
TFS Michel

  • Great 
  • arfer Gold Star Critiquer [C: 2731 W: 0 N: 0] (0)
  • [2007-06-05 22:42]

Hello John

A beautiful capture of this White faced heron.The composition is very good.Very nice colour saturation.Very good POV.TFS

Rob

Hi John. Excellent bird shot you have here. One of your very best birds to date. The angle of his body from your POV is perfect. Good clarity and DOF. Murray.

Hello John,
A well composed image with this fine bird!
Good details in the plumage and the pose adds interest value...
Good colours & details!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • demeve Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 586 W: 12 N: 1682] (6165)
  • [2007-06-06 12:06]

Hello John, beautiful heron, wonderful BG, the collors and details are fantastic, great POV and composition.. well done.

Hello John,
This is a nice picture of this tall animal. I like the way you composed it, this nice high POV, details and exposure. Well done and TFS,
Claudine

Hi john,

A nice image of the heron, the photo has a good composition, sharpness and nice colors. thanks for sharing.

Pierre

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