Avocet pair

[Wendy Kates]

I made this image at Bombay Hook NWR this past weekend. The avocets were in the marsh...at least 100 feet from me, so the crop is about 15% of the original image. I realize that is not optimal and that the IQ is reduced as a result. But I love the geometry and the symmetry of the image, so I'm posting it for your critiques. I shot it at about one hour after sunrise, and it was pretty cloudy, so the light was low...hence the high ISO. So noise reduction was essential. Because of the clouds, the water appeared pretty gray, so I added a blue filter in CS6 and masked the birds. I also cloned out some OOF vegetation at the bottom of the image.
Canon 7D, 300mm f/4 lens with 1.4 extender
f/8.0; 1/400s; ISO 1600; tripod

[jack williamson]

I too like the symmetry and poses, the trailing wake is nice. Still looks pretty good for such a large crop. The image is a little dark as presented, maybe up the exposure a little.

Jack

[Marina Scarr]

Agree on liking the symmetry Your image is looking a big dark to me. I think I would lighten it some. I would also like to see the birds out of the middle of the frame. You may wish to consider a crop from the right and bottom.