This is why I love to photograph Snowy Egrets. The shot was taken on July 23, at 8:50 AM, in the same marsh at Rocky Neck State Park.
Thank you for stopping by.
Peter
any
Is this a composite: No
Canon R5, Canon100-500mm, f9, 560mm, 1/2000, -1EV, ISO 320. The shot is cropped by 25% and I adjusted the highlights, shadows, contrast and exposure in DXO Photo Lab 4.
Great interaction, Peter. You might try pulling the whites in the right hand bird up a touch-it looks a bit gray to me.
Nice interaction in detail. I agree with Dennis regarding the exposure on the white plumage. You’re very lucky to have so many snowy egrets in your area.
Hi Dennis & Davis
I was reluctant to bring the whites up, because they already had a reading of R222, G219, B213. and I found going much higher the Egrets tended to loose detail.
Peter
PS Here is a repost with the levels up by 20 units.
@peter If you select (or mask everything but) the bird, you can probably use a curves layer to hold the brighter values in place and pull the grayer areas up a bit. Luminosity masks would work really well, but I don’t know if they’re available for DxO. You’re right, though. You do lose a bit of detail when you squish all the whites toward the top end. It’s a delicate balance.
Hi
Thank you for all the comments. Dennis DXO Photo Lab 4 works manly with color, level, noise correction. It has good spot tools and some ability to clone, but masking and add to the frame size are not part of this program.
Peter
A very nice behavior shot, Peter! I love the attitude of the Egret on the right and it’s definitely the primary subject in this image! As for the levels on the white feathers, I think the original post was just right. I personally much prefer the textures and details of the feathers over brightness. If people’s monitors are set darker it might look gray but my monitor brightness is fairly high and the feathers look white to me yet still not blown out.
