Photomontage - Grey Heron

[John Harper]

Hi there

Well i thought i would try my hand at messing around in Photoshop and trying to produce a panoramic montage from 3 shots taken of a Great Grey Heron landing in a meadow at the Hawk Conservancy.

I had thought about extracting the birds and placing them on the same background, but that was beyond my skills. So i thought i would give a montage a try and let Photoshop join the 3 shots together for me.

Well it might be a bit crudely done but for a 1st try and i am very pleased with the result.

Comments and Critiques welcomed as always.

John

 

[Asher Kelman]

John,

I like them. I wish they would land in my garden. I guess we have no rabbits or mice for them to devour whole!

A good go at it! Still how do I know these are not just 3 identical triplets coming together?

Asher

 

[Chuck Bragg]

I think that is a nice montage - rather reminds me of Muybridge's action sequences 130 years ago. I'm looking at it as carefully as I can, but I can't see the stitch marks that join the photos (or the trip wires you set up in the meadow [g]) - nice job. Of course it is obvious that it's not a 'real' photo, but it fascinates even more when you can't see how it was done.

Asher, you're not likely to get Great Greys in your Malibu yard, but if you want their American cousins, the Great Blues, I have two words for you: "koi pond." If you build it, they will come. Also, if you want Black-headed Parakeets in the yard, plant an apple tree. Here's one of the little pirates I shot last week in our yard. There's another one behind him that rather confuses the image, so this is just evidence, not the greatest photo.

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

...Asher, you're not likely to get Great Greys in your Malibu yard, but if you want their American cousins, the Great Blues, I have two words for you: "koi pond." If you build it, they will come. ...

Precisely! I live in a town center, but herons still land in our small garden since we have a koi pond, err, we had a koi pond. The pond has been robbed of all the koi many times by one of those herons visiting. So now, we have stopped investing in the koi and have only goldfish instead ;-). With a fish net permanently strung over the pond!

The montage looks very nice, BTW .

Cheers,

 

[Georg R. Baumann]

John, I love that study, it is very expressive and a fascinating insight in the grace of this stunning bird. In other words, I am bloody jeleaous. <LOL>

Since over a year now, every time when I see a Heron, I missed the shot. I gave up on trying to shoot hem, they will come to me or not. They are kinda shy, aren't they? ....Say YES.... <grins>

The only one I managed so far, literally running behind him cursing like a docker because the suckers always fly away the moment before I manage to focus <grins>:

 

[John Harper]

John, I love that study, it is very expressive and a fascinating insight in the grace of this stunning bird. In other words, I am bloody jeleaous. <LOL>

Since over a year now, every time when I see a Heron, I missed the shot. I gave up on trying to shoot hem, they will come to me or not. They are kinda shy, aren't they? ....Say YES.... <grins>

The only one I managed so far, literally running behind him cursing like a docker because the suckers always fly away the moment before I manage to focus <grins>:

Hi George

Glad you like the shot.

Yes they are shy!

I was watching this from a hide at the Hawk Conservancy where they feed these wild herons at about 4.30pm each day. They sometimes get upto 12 birds at a time. However someone came into the hide and let the door slam, they all took off and went to the bottom of the field.

It was not all bad news though, as they settled down and the lure of a free lunch took hold i was able to get this sequence of shots when one of them came back to feed.

So the moral of the story if patience won't work.... bribery generally does!!

John