Anhinga male, breeding colors and plumage

[Joseph Przybyla]

I was leaving Circle B Bar Reserve in early May, this year, when passing a fellow photographer mentioned that this Anhinga had nice colors and that he was done. So I went to work. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/2500 F/8 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 2200, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC 2018
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Glenn Pure]

Joe, I'm guessing the facial colours are breeding-related? You have amassed a great collection of photos of this species and this is a nice addition to the collection. Simple composition against the clear sky and the 'sculptural' pose are both good lifts for this.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Joe, funky looking subject and I like the fact that in the preening it amplifies the 'punk' hair do. :S3:

Techs look ok, you could perhaps have gone for a bit more DoF however I'm not sure if it would add much more, plus you are already pushing your ISO.

I get the impression you may have pushed the blues for the sky which may have added a bit more additional colour to the subject ie the lighter plumage? Maybe double processing may help here, or you can use a neat LR trick, but I think double processing would be better for you. I might also try to get some more detail back into the bill and add some additional localised sharpening.

This is just for comparison.

TFS
Steve

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Funky subject and good detail here Joseph! Like the RP Steve has posted and the colours really pop on the eye and bill!

[Isaac Grant]

Pretty pose on this Anhinga Joe. You have a very good eye for capturing common birds in uncommon poses and making the photos unique and interesting. I agree that the bird has a bit of a blue cast. Easy fix. Be careful not to turn it green.

[Tim Foltz]

Joe, very nice shot, unique pose, I like the repost.

-Tim

[David Salem]

Very cool pose and I like the colors and details Joe. I like the repost but think its a bit oversaturated. Maybe in between. Well done

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing, commenting, and suggesting improvements. Very much appreciated.

After viewing Steve's edit and post I could see my colors were a little flat. I reworked the image as posted here.

[Steve Kaluski]

That's far better Joe and the bill has more depth/detail.