Sora

[Raymond Lee]

143153

These birds are quite secretive. As soon as I heard it calling, I sat still on the edge of the dike in light rain and watched this Sora crossed from one side of the marsh, through the dike, and into the other side. I had plenty of closeups but I thought it would be nice to get a wider angle (despite at a telephoto focal length).

Murray Marsh, Sturgeon County, AB, Canada.
Canon EOS 7D | Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS + Kenko 1.4x Teleplus PRO 300 DGX + Canon Extender EF 1.4x II.
Manual mode, 1/640 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800, handheld.

All C&Cs are welcome!

Thanks,
Raymond

[Ian Wilson]

This is a nice example of how 'small in the frame' sometimes works well. I just scrolled the image down the screen a bit to cut off some of the background vegetation and thereby make the image more plano and it looks interesting - I suggest you experiment with this idea. Regards, Ian.

[Raymond Lee]

This is a nice example of how 'small in the frame' sometimes works well. I just scrolled the image down the screen a bit to cut off some of the background vegetation and thereby make the image more plano and it looks interesting - I suggest you experiment with this idea. Regards, Ian.

It is a great idea Ian! Thanks! I think it looks good if I crop out up to where that blurred yellow/orange-coloured grass near the top-middle of the frame.

[gail bisson]

I like the comp as is. Gives me a great idea of the smallness of this little guy out in the great big world.
The raised foot adds a nice sense of movement.
I would tone down the white, diagonal,OOF grass on RHS. It drags the eye away from the sora.
A really nice image,
Gail

[Marina Scarr]

I have a fondness for small in the frame birds images with habitat, and this one is no different. You did a great job portraying this bashful bird, and the raised foot and grass in its beak adds a lot. I would crop a bit off of the bottom.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Although the pano idea is good I do like the comp as is as it portrays the tall reeds of the habitat nicely. I do wish there was more separation between the subject's back and the reed line above it, and the white water surface, although unavoidable, is a bit harsh IMO. Good walking pose from the subject and I like that it is carrying something in its bill.

[Shawn Zierman]

This is awesome Raymond! Great side profile and it's visually amazing how dwarfed the sora is compared to the surrounding reeds. My eyes explore this scene with ease and interest. I enjoy the depth of the image too. It's not an easy image to pull off this well!

[Raymond Lee]

Thanks for everyone's input. I left the crop as is. I toned down the grasses on the right side. I added a gradient Gaussian Blur Layer (60% opacity). I added a curve layer mask to tone down some of the highlights on the right side as well as the top. Finally, I cleaned up the marsh surface as much as I could.

Here's the repost:

143175

Raymond