Loved visiting this swamp in Georgia with lots of interesting trees covered with Spanish Moss, and quite a few birds (though they weren't always easy to see and/or shoot ... funny how 600mm seems so inadequate sometimes ... obviously wasn't using it for this shot, though).
When I processed this I decided I liked the way B&W played up the desolate look of a swamp in winter. I suspect I would melt if I visited here in summer but I really enjoyed exploring it in February.
PP - straightened, cropped, tonemapped in qtpfsgui (pregamma 0.697, mantiuk method, contrast mapping 0.1, saturation factor 1.029, detail factor 1), merged with original at 20% transparency, increased contrast, dodged bird a little, duotone, resized, sharpened, added border.
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this is a picture of health though, I think, as they're probably resting up for the next season. Hopefully. I like the detail and the starkness of it all anyway.
Fantastic tones. The range is really well represented in every area of the photo. Very nicely composed. Wonderful texture. Egret? They're always good, especially when understated yet a highlight once found. Excellent processing. Title couldn't be better.
Criticisms? There's a speck of dust at about 11 o'clock. I doubt anyone cares about that, though. (But before you sell any prints...)
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