I thought I'd post in anyway

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Yesterday I was taking photos of black skimmers feeding, trying to get images of of the birds coming toward me as suggested and using the newly acquired flash unit I realized I needed after hanging around BPN a few days. I was successful and had many good shots, that were sharp, good exposure, and framed properly. Then there was this photo.
In the first place the image presented has not been cropped or anything, just a RAW converted to a JPEG. The bird is out of focus, and I don't think there's much that can be about that. Nonetheless, I thought I would share, and perhaps get a few post processing pointers.
Sony A-700/ Tamron 200-500mm/Sony HVL-F56AM/ 500mm ,1/1600 sec, f6.3, ISO 200 ,no EV adj ,flash ,5:33 PM
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

~onlybill

[Doug Brown]

Here's what it looks like with a levels adjustment, some sharpening, and a little shadows/highlights work. Still not a masterpiece, but better.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great capture of this behavior. Doug's repost helps a lot. I wish the skimmer would have flown toward you. If you are not sure whether to post an image, you can always choose the 'eager to learn' forum to get more help and suggestions.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Doug:Good job making lemonade out of lemons

Axel: you are probably right on where I should have posted it. Don't worry, I have a number of skimmers flying toward me, and they are photographically much better. I'll post one of them next. This was the only close up, and frankly, I had been out in the field all day, in the hot sun shooting pictures, and my decision to even post this image is suspect. Indeed, eager to learn would have been more appropriate, if at all.