September Birds...

[jprzybyla]

The weather today in Florida was overcast and misty. Not a good day for anything outside unless you live in the northwest corner of the United States ( hey Paul ). So what to do, I worked up some images I shot in September at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island, Florida. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

#1 Little Blue Heron... One Legged?



#2 Little Blue Heron... White Morph



#3 Yellow Crowned Night Heron



#4 Reddish Egret



#5 Dunlin

[Bobobird]

Another excellent series Joe.

I really like 1,2,3, 4 and 5.

[JPS]

Joe,
+1 what Bobo said.
John

[Ken Curtis]

Nice birdies, Joe. You have a way with birds and photography I've noticed.

I wonder if you could darken the background on #1 to give more emphasis to the heron.

#2 is great. I might try to make the feathers a little whiter unless that is the true color you saw, but otherwise think it is a great image.

In image #3, the background is somewhat distracting and the bird gets a bit lost in it. I love the colors though.

Possibly crop a small amount off left and right sides in image #4 as there is a lot of water with ripples that pull your eye away from bird.

No comment on #5.

[jeeperman]

All nicely done, Joe. #1 is my top pick if I must. I think Ken has got some good ideas.

Unless you live here? Oh come on Joe I know you can put those miserable days to good use! I struggle to go out in them to shoot, being I work out in it every day. I can only imagine if I saw only a few days that way a month I might be joyous in the thought of going out in it.

[FlyingSquirrel]

Although all of your photos are great, I feel like I always prefer the one that's least mentioned. My fave is definitely #3! I think it's a super photo. I feel the composition is very strong and feels good on the eyes. Colors are excellent. I like the background and focus just how they are, I feel it accentuates how the bird blends into its surroundings, and I don't feel it's distracting at all.

[NorthernFocus]

Quite a variety in this series. Can't understand why we don't have any of them around here. Those long legs would work wading in snow

[jprzybyla]

Another excellent series Joe.

I really like 1,2,3, 4 and 5.

Thanks Bobo, very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Joe,
+1 what Bobo said.
John

Hello John, thank you for taking time to view and comment. Very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Nice birdies, Joe. You have a way with birds and photography I've noticed.

I wonder if you could darken the background on #1 to give more emphasis to the heron.

#2 is great. I might try to make the feathers a little whiter unless that is the true color you saw, but otherwise think it is a great image.

In image #3, the background is somewhat distracting and the bird gets a bit lost in it. I love the colors though.

Possibly crop a small amount off left and right sides in image #4 as there is a lot of water with ripples that pull your eye away from bird.

No comment on #5.

Hello Ken, in #1 the background is easily darkened. The Adjustment Brush in Lightroom 4 works wonderfully for that. Regarding the color of the bird in #2, the color tends to be as shown. White tinted slightly bluish gray, eventually the bird will be the color of image #1. In image #3 I displayed the image almost full frame to show the Mangrove environment that the bird inhabits. I have others with tighter crops where the background is not so distracting. I agree with you comment regarding image #4. Thanks for taking time to view and comment, very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

All nicely done, Joe. #1 is my top pick if I must. I think Ken has got some good ideas.

Unless you live here? Oh come on Joe I know you can put those miserable days to good use! I struggle to go out in them to shoot, being I work out in it every day. I can only imagine if I saw only a few days that way a month I might be joyous in the thought of going out in it.

Hi Paul, thank you for you comments. Well... living in Florida 50 degrees is cold and cloudy overcast misty days are miserable. We do have sun literally 350 days a year. Florida is not called the sunshine state for nothing. As I am retired I can choose and wait for a good day to do outside stuff. I am not sure, never having lived in the northwest but from what I read and hear cloudy weather is more prevalent than sunshine. I would find difficulty in that. Take care buddy... keep shooting.

[jprzybyla]

Although all of your photos are great, I feel like I always prefer the one that's least mentioned. My fave is definitely #3! I think it's a super photo. I feel the composition is very strong and feels good on the eyes. Colors are excellent. I like the background and focus just how they are, I feel it accentuates how the bird blends into its surroundings, and I don't feel it's distracting at all.

Thank you Matt, before capturing the images of the Yellow Crowned Night Heron I had never seen one before. They live deep in the Mangroves so I cropped so the environment showed. I appreciate you viewing and commenting.

[jprzybyla]

Although all of your photos are great, I feel like I always prefer the one that's least mentioned. My fave is definitely #3! I think it's a super photo. I feel the composition is very strong and feels good on the eyes. Colors are excellent. I like the background and focus just how they are, I feel it accentuates how the bird blends into its surroundings, and I don't feel it's distracting at all.

Thank you Matt, before capturing the images of the Yellow Crowned Night Heron I had never seen one before. They live deep in the Mangroves so I cropped so the environment showed. I appreciate you viewing and commenting.

[jprzybyla]

Quite a variety in this series. Can't understand why we don't have any of them around here. Those long legs would work wading in snow

Thanks Dan, hmmmm... long legs in the snow, interesting. I believe we photograph what is available. Florida does not have sweeping majestic landscapes but it does have birds. The wetlands and marshes offer a wonderful variety, the winter brings migrating birds. So I photograph what is at hand, but beyond that I find birds beautiful wonder filled subjects. My attempt is to try and show the beauty that is sometimes missed. Each is so unique in colors, feather patterns and habitat.