Great Blue Heron - splash of color
This Great Blue Heron was walking around in the brook behind our house.
This Great Blue Heron was walking around in the brook behind our house.
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo right behind our house where there is a brook and where we get to have the pleasure of seeing a variety of animals show up on many occasions. It's always an event whenever a Great Blue Heron shows up either to rest or hunt for fish.Time
The Heron made an appearance in the middle of a cold afternoon. This was towards the end of February and I didn’t have work that day since many businesses were closed because of the snowfall the previous night. When my wife spotted the Heron, I slid the sliding patio door slightly open and started taking photos.Lighting
The lighting was diffused because of the clouds and the bright fallen snow all around. This was propitious; otherwise, I would have captured a darker image of the Heron since it was stealthily walking around under the shade of the tree.Equipment
I used a Sony NEX-5T mirrorless camera, with a 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 lens.Inspiration
As a newcomer to the world of photography I am ever learning and always trying to keep an eye out for anything interesting to capture. The Great Blue Heron is a slippery subject to catch because of its apparent keen eyesight and sharp hearing. I try to be cautious whenever it makes an appearance but it is easily spooked and flies off as soon as it senses me. As long as it keeps on visiting our brook, I’ll keep trying to capture its beauty.Editing
When I loaded the photos onto my Surface Pro 3 laptop/tablet, I was a disappointed because the Great Blue Heron blended in with all the foliage in the background and foreground. A few days later I got the idea of making the photo Black and White except for the Heron. I use an App called PicsArt whenever I want to do a rough draft because after rendering it in Black and White, I can quickly restore the color to the subject just by quickly drawing with my finger. Having the Heron alone in color did not look right so I restored color to some of the foreground leaves as well. When I saw how striking the outcome was, I proceeded to replicate the effect in PhotoShop using a layer mask in order to get a cleaner result.In my camera bag
I like to travel light and usually carry a small bag that’s made to fit a tablet or a smaller laptop. I added some dividers so that the front compartment could hold my lenses, lens hoods, and camera body. The small size of the Sony Alpha NEX-5T mirrorless camera fits perfectly in my slim bag. Aside from the original 16-50mm/f3.5-5.6 lens, I have a 55-210mm/f4.5-6.3 zoom and a 35mm/f1.8 prime. I also have a Velbon Ultrastick M50 monopod that collapses down to under 13†stowed on the side where a water bottle normally goes. Since this camera is small and lightweight I tend to bring it with me all the time. I don’t think this would be the case with a bulkier camera. I’m the type who would probably leave that at home unless there was a special occasion.Feedback
I’ve learned from seeing the many amazing photos here at ViewBug that, many times, less is more. A photo that tries to capture too much is just that, too much! You can greatly improve a shot by taking attention away from everything else that detracts. There are various ways to do this: by Bokeh, by using a contrasting background, or by filling most of the image with your subject. If you overlooked using any of these techniques, all is not lost; an innovative post-process approach is to use Color Splash. This works wonders when the photo is just too “busy†and nothing really stands out. You don’t have to use Photoshop which has a steep learning curve; there are a number of free apps/programs available that can accomplish this. Even ViewBug has its own Effects Editor that has the Splash option. So take a look at some of those old shots that you gave up on and see if a splash of color would give them life anew.
