Critique G.C.Grebe - Overworked?

[FourRingCircus]

Got a tip-off that these guys were relatively local and within easy frame-filling view of a big lens. So, off I went a bit late in the day yesterday dodging the heavy showers and hoping for a little bit of warm evening light. It didn't happen and I spent more time protecting the equipment from the precipitation.

Anyway, I got these shots and was ready to delete them, due to bad light rain spots, but then decided to play a bit harder with the Faststone pp program just to see what would happen.

Have to say, I'm actually quite happy with the first shot here, as I know how dull and atmospheric it was in the first place. I know I've pushed the levels a bit too far but I'm interested to hear brutal views of what others make of this experiment.:

 

[gramps]

#2 works the best for me but the green is a bit 'startling'! :_

 

[Joeturner11]

Personally quite like the first image showing the grebe on a typical environmental setting and the reflection is a bonus, the POV also looks lower IMHO than the other shots which helps again enhance it and you should be playing around with the processing on Photoshop now not Faststone still!!!!!

 

[FourRingCircus]

Thanks gents.

My interest in harsh critique stems from the fact that these were really shot in the kind of gloom where you wish you'd left the camera at home. In fact, I wished I'd stayed at home full stop! However, there was nothing on telly last night and I was messing about with 'sliders' well beyond what I would normally do. In truth, I'm not unhappy with the results and that's quite a surprise given how poor the originals were. I dare say that the proximity of the subject(s) has helped the most, as there's little or no cropping involved.

The first shot is really growing on me in the 'arty' sense rather than my usual attempt at forensic close shots. That 'startling green' in #2 really isn't that far removed from the original either gramps, though it is (of course) over saturated! Joe - I know I'm being tardy about getting a proper program for PP. There just always seems to be something better to do than sit at a screen.

 

[sk66]

I like the first image. I think there's a little too much on the rt side and the image seems ~ 1/2 stop underexposed.

 

[FourRingCircus]

I think there's a little too much on the rt side and the image seems ~ 1/2 stop underexposed.

I did it 16:9 instead of 3:2 because the stick on the left seemed to make it unbalanced at 3:2. As for exposure, it's already been lifted significantly from the original as it was almost too murky to be using a camera at all.

 

[munchycarrot]

Three lovely shots for me, they are not the easiest of subject to get low and clean shots like this so whatever you have done in post, works well. I agree the saturation on the green is a bit radioactive but great shots all the same