Green Heron 05-04

[Kenn Jolemore]

Taken this morning with the tide running out.
Pentax K10D Tokina 80-400 @300mm
F6.3, ISO125 1/160 AP.

[Fabs Forns]

Hi Kenn, the light angle here is really huting the image, light is coming from the high left, leaving the belly of the bird totally in shadows. For compo, you need to try and get the bird away from the center, in this case, far more to the left. A vertical would have worked better here, giving you more space on top and bottom.
Keep them coming!

[Greg Lasley]

Hi Kenn,
I agree with what Fabs said. To quote Artie Morris..."point your shadow at the bird". Direct frontal lighting is a general rule of thumb for many bird images. Obviously, we all have to shoot otherwise from time to time and sometimes we are trying to create something different, so "rules" get broken. On a sunny day this time of year I tend to shoot bird images between dawn and about 9:30 A.M., then again in the late afternoon after about 5 PM or so. At other times the lighting is just too harsh in my opinion. On a day when you have a bright overcast that is not giving harsh shadows, you can sometimes shoot all day long. Hope to see more photos from you!