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Inspiring and Supporting Photographers of Australian Birds

Nankeen Night-Heron

Photographed by

Elizabeth Oxnam on Thu 17th Aug, 2017 and uploaded on Mon 27th Apr, 2020 .

Resolution

1727x1400

Viewed

794

40261

Comment

The feedback I am seeking about this image is cropping, the editing to manage the over exposure on the breast of the bird. I realise the bird's feet are not showing in the image and would appreciate any feedback about this. Any extra feedback or comments would be appreciated. I used spot remover 'heal' in Lightroom to delete a white 'blob' in the mid upper right third of the image. Many Thanks

Equipment

Canon EOS 5D Mk III, Lens Canon Prime 300mm + 1.4 xIII. 1/1000, f/8.0, ISO 2500.
Editing in Lightroom

Location

Herdsman Lake, Western Australia

Keywords

adult, breeding plumage/features

This image is not available for download.

Bob Young	2020-04-28 14:22:57	Hi Elizabeth, A couple of observations. Regarding cropping, I would crop quite heavily on the right- coming in far enough to remove the patch of bright weeds which the bird appears to be looking at, but I find distracting. In terms of editing the " over exposure on the breast of the bird", there may be little which can be done. If there is no detail in this area in the RAW file, anything which you do is more likely to just make a grey patch. Have you tried using the "Highlights" slider in Lightroom? If there is any detail there moving the slider to the left may bring out some detail and reduce the "shine' on the feathers. If you have already tried this then unfortunately what you have may be the best you can do. I think the problem is really in your metering technique. I notice from the EXIF data that you used Pattern Metering mode which I assume is similar to Matrix metering on my Nikon DSLR and will meter the whole image while trying to find a setting which "averages (for the want of a better term) the highlights, shadows and mid-tones. Because the bright area of the bird is so small in relation to the much darker foreground and background, the highlights will most likely be over exposed. Many experienced bird photographers will use the spot metering mode to overcome this problem. I notice that this image was taken almost 21/2 years ago. Are you still experiencing this issue with your exposure settings? Cheers Bob
Elizabeth Oxnam	2020-04-29 13:52:21	Many thanks Bob for your useful comments. I sometimes alter the metering mode depending on what I am photographing, and shall fine tune my workflow. It is good to have a fresh eye on things and I can appreciate how the light to the right is distracting and have had look at the image with that cropping in mind. Alas the overexposure on the breast I feel has spoilt the image. I've been going through my old photos during social distancing hence the time frame of the photo. Looking forward to taking more photos of this lovely bird in the future.
Elizabeth Oxnam	2020-04-29 13:52:25	Many thanks Bob for your useful comments. I sometimes alter the metering mode depending on what I am photographing, and shall fine tune my workflow. It is good to have a fresh eye on things and I can appreciate how the light to the right is distracting and have had look at the image with that cropping in mind. Alas the overexposure on the breast I feel has spoilt the image. I've been going through my old photos during social distancing hence the time frame of the photo. Looking forward to taking more photos of this lovely bird in the future.

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	164/283 in Critique Gallery
	6/14 by Elizabeth Oxnam
	74/130 of Nankeen Night-Heron
	656/1295 of Herons, Egrets and Bitterns
	18642/34414 Overall
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