Great Blue with a Meal

[Miguel Palaviccini]

After this GB caught the catfish, he decided to fly around and show it off for a bit - giving me the opportunity to capture a couple of full frame shots. This one, in my opinion, is the best of the bunch. I was surprised at how long it took him to swallow it, over 10 minutes! He would repeatedly put it down on the grass and stab it, then pick it up, attempt to eat it, and repeat. Finally, down the hatch it went.

Capture Specs:
Nikon D800 | 500 mm VR + 1.4x
1/1250" | f/5.6 | ISO 4000
Aperture Priority | -1/3 EV

I was thinking of removing some from the bottom and adding to the top? Suggestions?

Critiques and comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Miguel


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[Norm Dulak]

Hi Miguel.

This is a very nice action image, and the fish tops it off. If it were mine, I'd crop some off from the bottom -- to a point just above the dark horizontal line. Then, I'd add more canvas above and to the right of the bird.

TFS.

Norm

[Sanjeevprakash]

Superb Shot,Miguel.Beautiful light here and the under wings are lit up very well and show nice details.I would however leave the bottom as is and infact add to the top and right of the frame.I like the OOF banks as it relays that the bird is flying over a water body.Along with that a round of NR to the BG would work too.Nice stuff.

edit: I would also clone out the distinct white line connecting the Tail and feet of the Bird.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the flight angle, details, exposure, catch and sharpness. I agree with Sanjeev's suggestions. Well done Miguel!

[dankearl]

A dynamic Heron photo. It looks a bit noisy, but the color, flight pose and fish are nice.

[Satish Ranadive]

Miguel:
Magnificent flight pose captured.Love the pose,colors,details and fish.Nice composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Chris Kotze]

Excellent captured ,super catch and light, ditto for some space in front of the bird.

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Excellent BIF with catch Miguel, love the colors and flight path. The BG looks a bit to busy, would consider smoothing it, using some blur tool in PS. I also agree with add a bit of canvas on top, in front and less at the bottom.