Editing

I usually don't like to edit images. I enjoy the challenge of trying to get a good photograph that can stand on it's own without any retouching. However, I'm not a purist that believes you shouldn't manipulate a photo to achieve the desired result. Sometimes a color correction or crop can save a not so hot picture. All of the photos that have appeared on this blog so far have been untouched - I simply downloaded the images off the camera onto the computer and then compressed the files to allow for quicker loading onto the 'net.

The below photograph is a decent shot I took one morning while searching for photo opps. I was visiting the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg, Va and noticed some hawk-like birds fishing. I moved up the river to get closer to the action but I was only able to get within 100 yards of the soaring and diving birds (I think the birds were ospreys). The largest zoom I have is a 300mm lens and while that lens can reach out and touch, it just can't pull off a great shot of moving birds 100 yards away.

After a bunch of patient waiting, I managed to snap a series of photos as one of the hawks hovered high above the river, picked his prey, and then closed his wings to dive straight down into the water. With the distance and inadequate lens, this is the result.

Not a very close shot. You can see the bird and you might be able to make out the fish clenched in the talons. I wasn't happy with the result after spending so much time sitting in the middle of a river on a cold rock, so I decided to play around with the image.
I cropped the original photo to remove a large amount of the unnecessary river and rocks. I adjusted the exposure to add a bit of light and tweaked the color. I'm still disappointed that I didn't get a sharp, bright, up close shot of one of these birds hauling a fish out of the water, but that's the beauty of photography - there's always another day to try again!