Cattle Egret

[Miguel Palaviccini]

After a 2 week hiatus, I got back to the field :) I went out to capture some photos of the very rare white-faced ibis and came back with some keepers of a pair of Cattle Egret. This one is my favorite of the bunch, although I do wish there was a bit more separation between the two birds (IMO, making the crop easier). I could see how taking some off of the sides might be beneficial, but for some reason, I'm not a fan of square-ish crops. Thoughts?

Shooting Info:
Nikon D800 | 500 f/4 VR | HH
1/2000 | f/7.1 | ISO 800

Comments and suggestions are appreciated!

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

I like the crop as is. The birds need some space to move. Wish for better HA though. Like the spread out feet of the landing bird.

[Frank Schauf]

Nice in flight pose and scene.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Miguel, lovely soft light, which in turn has brought out the whites nicely. I do like the incoming pose of the egret on the left, and that we can see both eyes of the perched egret. The incoming egret pops so well against the BG, and Im fine with the comp as is.

[gail bisson]

Hi Miguel,
I like the comp as is.
BG has lovely complimentary colors.
I would clone out the lone diagonal branch on RHS at the bottom.
Exposure is excellent and the incoming bird looks great and tack sharp.
I wish you had been a bit more to your left to separate the sitting egret from the grasses a bit more.
These are very minor issue though and I like the shot very much,
Gail

[Tim King]

Nice incoming pose and perfect exposure. I`d love to see a wider version, maybe with the ground below. I`d take it as is.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice landing pose captured in a great looking habitat, Miguel. The OOF bird adds dimension.

[PhilCook]

Liking very much the flight posture of the left hand bird, wishing the nesting bird was a little more side on as well. Background and natural vegetation is rather nice and doesn't compete with the bird at all.....sweet shot

[Melissa Groo]

Really nice behavior shot Miguel and I love the painterly effect of that soft light. Beautiful incoming pose. Only wish the head of the bird at the nest was not looking pretty much straight ahead. But I like this a lot.

[Greg Oakley]

Lovely image Miguel,
Cheers, Greg