May 27, 2009

Brazos Bend State Park #2

The contrast of colors was what drew me to this scene.  The greens and browns of the background and water versus the blues and reds of the bird is what makes this photo for me.  For some reason, when I posted the image and then previewed it, the browns have a slightly greener cast than my original RAW file, so try to image it without that cast.

I put my tripod as low as it would go (I was laying on my belly--constantly watching for alligators) so that I would be shooting straight-on at the bird’s eye—I wanted to make sure I would capture any catch-light in the bird’s eyes.  I then yelled "action" and this little guy started swimming straight at me.  It is great to work with "first rate" talent like this guy!

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D700, 300mm f/4 with 1.7x Nikon Teleconverter and polarizing filter attached, shot at ISO 200, f/16 and 1/60th of a second on a tripod.


Post Processing:

Lightroom—Set white and black points, added mid-tone contrast and darkened brown and greens in scene.

Photoshop—cloned-out blown-out highlights and used nik Color Efex Pro tonal contrast filter only on the bird to bring out as much detail as possible in his feathers. 

5 comments:

  1. Nice job Larry. I like the "painterly" effect on this one. To me the texture of the water looks as if it was created with a painters paddle instead of a camera lens.

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  2. Good bird photo. You get both the details of the bird and his environment.
    Steve

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  3. Beautiful, rich colors. The dark water sets off the bird so nicely. Is that a duck??? You are living dangerously these days, on your stomach in alligator infested waters! That is dedication to your craft.

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  4. Nice combination of colors. I am with Cindi, I do not think you should be laying on your belly when things that can eat you are in the water. I would pass on this photo. Like the photo.
    Debbie

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  5. This is a Purple Gallinule for those who wanted to know.

    I can't take credit for it though. Steve Schaeffer and Tim Timmis provided the answer to me.

    DHaass

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