Birds and Dewdrops from Tuesday

[jprzybyla]

My wife and I went out Tuesday to a nearby nature refuge. We were there for four hours or so until it started to get hot and crowded. The following are a few of the images I shot that day. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Barred Owl

#1



#2



Little Blue Heron



Little Green Heron



Great Egret



Palm Warbler



Dewdrops on Spider Web

[Suzan J]

I have really enjoyed viewing your bird shots over the last few months since I joined this group. Your captures are truly amazing and inspiring. Can you tell me what metering mode you used for your owl shots? Also, to what degree do you tend to crop your shots? I am finding that the most difficult thing for me to learn is how to sneak up on critters!

[Brownbear]

Amazing photos, as always... The owl shots are especially stunning.

[jprzybyla]

I have really enjoyed viewing your bird shots over the last few months since I joined this group. Your captures are truly amazing and inspiring. Can you tell me what metering mode you used for your owl shots? Also, to what degree do you tend to crop your shots? I am finding that the most difficult thing for me to learn is how to sneak up on critters!

Hello Susan, thank you for viewing and commenting it is very much appreciated. Regarding the metering mode I almost exclusively use Nikon's Matrix Metering Mode which meters the whole scene. Occasionally I use spot metering which I have programed the functions button to initiate if needed. I think the best way to show the crops is to post the originals as straight out of the camera. This also will show the post processing work up.















These are straight out of the camera, they look pretty bad... flat, hazy. I think post processing is like taking a uncut gemstone and polishing it. The work up reveals the beauty that is hidden. All of the above were processed in Adobe Lightroom 4 with a slight final tweak in Photoshop Elements 10.

[jprzybyla]

Amazing photos, as always... The owl shots are especially stunning.

Thank you Christina, your viewing and commenting is appreciated.

[RogerCook]

Nice shots Joe the Owl is beautiful I've never been able to photograph one in the wild, thanks for posting the originals also it was helpful to see the comparisons.

[Otavio]

Very nice shots, Joe. How close to the owl (#1) were you? The ones I find in the wild never let me approach that much...

[Shadowman]

Very nice series, the owl is my favorite also.

[terrib]

Very nice, Joe. Thanks for posting the originals. It is helpful to see what you start with. I really like the vegetation around the Owl. Interesting.

[jprzybyla]

Nice shots Joe the Owl is beautiful I've never been able to photograph one in the wild, thanks for posting the originals also it was helpful to see the comparisons.

Hello Roger, thank you for viewing and commenting. The owl is just chance, it happened to be there but the more time one spends in wild places the more opportunities arise.

[jprzybyla]

Very nice, Joe. Thanks for posting the originals. It is helpful to see what you start with. I really like the vegetation around the Owl. Interesting.

Thanks Terri, very much appreciated.