DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
Ghost in the Swamp
Ghost in the Swamp
MaryO


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Animals In Black And White (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Herons and Other Water Birds
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm f/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Alexandria, VA
Date: Feb 17, 2012
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 6400
Shutter: 1/640
Date Uploaded: Feb 15, 2012

 OK, I'm obsessed with this bird. I admit it. But he's the first Cattle Egret I've seen overwinter here, and I've been able to find him every time I've been to the park lately. Yesterday he was a beacon of light in a dark, swampy corner of the woods. How could I not take his picture?

PP - cropped, tonemapped bird in qtpfsgui (pregamma 0.697, mantiuk method, contrast mapping 0.1, saturation factor 1.029, detail factor 1), levels, darkened and blurred background a bit, vignette, reduced noise, merged bird with background, darkened midtones, cloned out one bright branch in background, resized, sharpened, added border.

Statistics
Place: 38 out of 172
Avg (all users): 6.2885
Avg (commenters): 7.5000
Avg (participants): 6.2024
Avg (non-participants): 6.3889
Views since voting: 642
Views during voting: 304
Votes: 156
Comments: 7
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS R6
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 02/26/2012 03:27:16 PM
Great job naturally highlighting your subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D2X
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 02/26/2012 12:36:15 PM
This is one of my highest rated images in the contest. I like the bright white of the bird against the darkness of the swamp surroundings. The title is a perfect fit to how the image makes me feel when I see the beauty in the dark and seedy comfort of his stomping grounds. I don't mind the movement of the birds wings showing in the shot. (I can take it or leave it). The softness of the log in the foreground is a little bit of a bother to me though. I think is is an important part of the sceen and I would have made some of that fantastic detail stand out a little more. Still, a stellar shot, and one of my favorites in this challenge. Good luck with it! I hope to see it on the front page when the challenge closes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
 02/25/2012 09:18:30 AM
Well caught in flight you did very well nice composition the background really makes this image POP ..Well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM
 02/24/2012 04:36:39 PM
Nice tonal contrast between the bright whites and deep blacks. I also quite like the slight panning effect here; it gives a real sense of motion.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
 02/24/2012 12:22:13 PM
Beautiful! I have always wanted to take a shot like this. Love it
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro for Canon
 02/20/2012 08:10:45 AM
Looked great when this popped up on my screen. Good luck!! ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 02/20/2012 12:36:33 AM
Beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Theme: Classic / Light / Dark
Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2026 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 10/15/2026 10:26:33 AM EDT.