Heron on Ice

[Sue Palmer]

Early Morning at the Hayden Reserve, Fir Island, Skagit County, WA..
Fog patches came and went all day, this great blue heron arrived as the fog had lifted slightly. The snow geese I posted in the 'Eager to Learn' forum, I could hear when I took this, so when the fog dropped visibility here to about 30', I set off to find them. And they were in a hole in the fog that lasted about half an hour.
The mud flats froze as the tide went out.
Canon EOS 1D MIII, Canon 400mmf5.6L with 1.4 converter Iso 1000,
f/8, 1/500s +0.33ev, handheld. Cropped slightly on the left and top
Sue

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Very nice habitat and pose. It really looks cold. The image has a slight blue cast and the reeds look a bit oversharpened.

[Sue Palmer]

Thank you for your evaluation, Axel ..I have much to learn. I will try being less heavy handed on the sharpening.
The color cast, memory says it was real, the fog was a ground hugger with (for us) a bright blue sky above. And I think that it emphasized the chill I was feeling in my bones that morning .. it is cold when salt water freezes.
Sue

[Alfred Forns]

Agree with Axel I do like the image and the feel that it has In this instance the bg does not feel cutter/distracting I like it a lot Worth looking into the suggested changes !!!!!

[Harold Stiver]

A bit of blue cast in a image is often helpful in conveying the cold but I would dial this back a bit. I like the broader stage you've provided this subject. Well done.

[Sue Palmer]

Al and Harold, I appreciate your opinions, II will follow Axel's suggestions as to color cast and sharpening. On sharpening, I was looking just at the heron, the original, a bit soft due to handholding while shivering.
Question..
Can I add the revised image on this forum, or should I substitute the image I posted?

Sue

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like it as posted, color-wise (not sure if I'm looking at a repost or not). It's got a certain mood to it that I like. I did not like the log at bottom at first, but now I think it is alright there.

[Sue Palmer]

Not a repost, Danial.. that log, where he eventually landed, this one of a burst at 6 fps.
I haven;t the time now to redo, hopefully later today or tomorrow.
Sue

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

This is not the usual GBH post and I find the mood most appealing Sue . Showing the action and the surrounding environment creates a lot of interest for me. The nits have been mentioned but defintiely worth working on. !!

[Emil Martinec]

A really nice environmental, I like what you are trying to show here. I'm with the camp that would tone down the blue cast; I would also crop some off the bottom to eliminate the log spanning the bottom of the frame which draws the eye.

[Sue Palmer]

I really appreciate all the input as to how to modify my shot
Following your suggestions, I cropped a bit tighter, warmed slightly, and lightened up on sharpening.
I wish I could have warmed the weather I was standing in,
Sue.