I used two cameras: the Olympus C765-UZ with teleconverter for the great blue heron and the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 for three shots of the surrounding houses. I used Panorama Factory to connect the three landscape photos.
Using PS, the panorama was made circular with polar coordinates. The heron in the nest was clipped from a separate image, copied to a layer, scaled, and positioned on top of the panorama layer. Then various adjustment layers were applied to the combined images.
I went out shooting with the idea of capturing a harsh environment for the birds in the sanctuary. But somehow the shots didn't look harsh enough. However, almost everywhere I shot I had houses in the background. That's what gave me the idea of encircling the heron in it's tree with the housing development.
I had never tried this type of processing before, so I took enough shots for a panorama and some of the wildlife, and then proceeded to figure out a method to create the image I wanted. It was fun and satisfying.
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I agree that I should not have cropped the image so tightly on the right and left. I tried it both way, then opted for this version. I also can see that sharpening on the trees might improve the effect.
Thanks everyone for your comments.
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Place: 62 out of 116 Avg (all users): 5.7028 Avg (commenters): 5.5294 Avg (participants): 5.6667 Avg (non-participants): 5.7171 Views since voting: 1081 Views during voting: 664 Votes: 212 Comments: 21 Favorites: 0
It seems to me this is quite nicely done, although I sort of wish the trees weren't cut off at the edges on both sides. It is not my style I must say, and I'm not sure I would have made the connection if it weren't for the title. ~6
Sorry but since you went this way and did a shot like this I can´t help but compare it to the two similar shot´s that finished in the top 10 of the sky challenge and frankly this is not nearly as well done. Mostly what bothers me is the fuzzyness of the trees, the fact that they are cut off on the right and left side and the lackof detail and texture in it. You probably think I voted 1 with that comment but well it´s not bad at all though, just not good either so I voted 5 :)
Its a great idea to show the shrinking environment in this very literal way, and for that i'd give you a high score but the actual image is not as good.
As a photo...it's cool. Nice use of the expert rules. For meeting the challenge...yes, I see and agree with your message but it would be lost in the photo without a title. Otherwise, it would just seem like a fun picture.
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