Grebe in green

[Lyle Gruby]

Shot this at the recently re-opened Wapanocca NWR--thanks federal government! Techs are a little wonky because I was preparing to shoot some ducks I thought were going to fly over when this little fellow surprisingly swam by and I had to rapidly change settings. I chose to decrease the shutter speed to compensate for the difference in exposure. All C&C welcome. I struggled with the comp on this. I have room all around. I'm open to all suggestions.

Techs:
D3S
700mm
ISO 1600
f/5.6
1/800

[Jonathan J. Weber]

Lyle, You were lucky to catch what you did with that one, as they are quick to dive again and disappear almost each time they surface. I like the colors in the frame as well as your documentation of the duckweed bib.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Excellent low angle, and I like your comp. Perfect head angle and I too like the duckweed bib. Vegetation on the left balances the frame nicely.

[Karl Egressy]

I like the pose and the green on the breast makes it interesting.

[gail bisson]

I love the duckweed on the breast and the green vegetation on the left.
Good comp and low POV.
I feel like this is underexposed and has a magenta cast. I am also bothered by the blurred area at the tip of the bill and the lack of feather detail on the neck and flanks.
Is this a big crop?
Gail

[Lyle Gruby]

Thanks all for your feedback. Gail, you're right on all your crits. The crop is not small, but it's not unreasonable. The other problems are my poor post processing technique. I had some trouble taming the green moss and color of the bird. I tried some things out of the ordinary--none of which worked very well.