Great Crested Grebe

[Frank Schauf]

Canon EOS 1DMIV, EF600mm f/4L IS II USM, 1/2500s, f/5.6, ISO 800

153396

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Frank, excellent eye level perspective here, and what a great pose/wingspread and HA you captured here. The Grebe is nice and sharp, and the placement works well. Lovely colours throughout, and that smooth water is a killer. I feel there are few variations of a comp here - pano, by taking some off the bottom. Taking some off the bottom and adding more on top. :w3

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

I like the comp, the wing pose and head turn.
Love the POV too.
A great effort Frank!
TFS!

[Marina Scarr]

Killer image and while I wouldn't have thought of choosing this comp, it works well. Love the color palette.

[Bill Dix]

A beauty. Great low POV, colors, wing position. Nice sharpness and very well exposed. I would definitely add a bit to the top. I can see why you chose to place the bottom where you did because of the reflection, but I might experiment with taking a bit off there.

[Mike Poole]

Just about my favourite bird, and this is one heck of an image. Great low POV and a pose to die for - superb

[Karen Pleasant]

What a terrific image! The wing position and HA are really striking! Excellent POV and sharpness on the Grebe. The colors are very pleasing. I feel that this is a strong comp since I enjoy the reflection,. Yet it might benefit from a tad more on the top.

Just wonderful work, Frank!

[dankearl]

I like the placement of the bird.....
Cool pose and your usual nice IQ....

[William Dickson]

Beautiful frame. I really like the colours throughout the image Great work

Will

[Randy Stout]

Frank:

A spectacular bird, dramatic pose, excellent head angle, rich, vibrant colors.

re: comp. Generally, if you are going to leave a lot below to show the reflection, I would add some above to balance it a bit. Because the reflection is quite soft, I would consider cropping to top of your sig., blend the remaining reflection at the new frame edge so it doesn't quite touch that edge, and add a tiny bit to the top to help balance it. Just my take on it, lots of good options, including as presented.

I do occ. deal with a similar situation with the loons. :S3:

Randy