Your Gallery picture (1 Viewer)

Here is a link to George McCarthy's gallery:

http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2331

In looking at the shot you put there, I'm struck by the vivid background colors. How much of that is the result of post processing and how much is proper film (if you don't shoot digital) and technique?

Why I ask is because of a picture I took of a heron flying at sunset. It was an opportunity shot which (due to the wonders of IS) I took hand held without thinking, three pictures with one that I really liked. When I saw the picture on the computer, the background was more like red'ish mud than a wonderful sunset:
http://www.marx7.org/~dsmith/eric/heron_flight_sunset.jpg

I wasn't able to draw out the amazing colors I saw when I took the picture. A month later, with better PhotoShop skills, I was able to tease out more color and came up with this picture:

http://www.marx7.org/~esmith/web_posts/heron_flight_sunset_again.jpg

That picture is also posted in my gallery here:
http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showgallery.php?ppuser=2613

This one is much closer to the great sunset colors I saw. So I wondered if there was something I’m missing that is preventing the out-of-camera shot from being closer to what I saw or if I should accept that skill with PhotoShop is what will bring out the best of this type of picture.

As for technical details: Canon 10D and 100-400L @400, 1/1000, f5.6, -1exposure comp, Auto White Balance, Evaluative Metering

Thanks for any help and ideas,

Eric

Ps. And thanks for contributing to this forum in general. I (and I’m sure We) appreciate you taking the time to help us out.

Hi Eric, yes my pic has been in photoshop but not for what you might think, ie colour enhancement. These colours are truly those found down in New Mexico during the Winter. To confirm check out Arthur Morris's site because he was the one that put Bosque del Apache on the map as far as I am concerned.

I first discovered Bosque in the Ramada hotel in Fort Myers, Florida about 10 years ago when I was running a photography tour there and on Ft Myers beach we bumped into Artie who said if we came to his hotel that night he would show us some slides. He did and we were all staggered by the vivid colours on some of the slides especially those from Bosque - remember these were the actual slides, nothing digital here.
So no colour enhancement but I have removed the head and shoulders of a 6th bird coming in from the right courtesy of Photoshop. As I type this my printers are running replacing stock I sold today. Every picture I print has been thru PS.

I have no problem believing that what is in the picture is what you saw. But the camera, generally, does not see like the human eye. Maybe my standards/skill aren't high enough, but I don't expect the picture to directly reflect reality... for me it rarely does. I expect to have to manipulate pictures in some way (sharpening at the very least, crop or levels as well.)

Could you describe your technique and settings for getting the out-of-camera shot to reflect those colors? Is a lot of it in the film choice (which I don't have, being digital)? Or is it in technique with the camera? Those colors are wonderful!

Eric