Crow & Crayfish

[dankearl]

D500, 500mm (300 w/1.7), f5, 1/2000, iso2500

DSC_1781bp2.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=181643&stc=1&d=1559245589)

[Ivan Sjogren]

What a nice moment Dan! You did very well freezing the action with a perfect down-stroke.
Those claws on the crayfish is beautiful! Good exposure, nice details and beautiful colors in the BG.
The light seems to be coming a bit from the side but it works allright for me. I think you could take a bit off from the right as it is a bit too much dead space for me.

[David Roach]

Cool catch for both of you. This would be good for next month theme as well... TFS

[Bob Smith]

D500, 500mm (300 w/1.7), f5, 1/2000, iso2500

DSC_1781bp2.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=181643&stc=1&d=1559245589)
A dramatic background for a dramatic image Dan and you got good feather detail, something I for some reason always find difficult to achieve with crows.
Nice that the whole wing is in focus, right back to the eye. I think I would prefer to see the luminosity of the top right corner of the BG brought into line with that of the bottom left.<object type="application/x-KPMPlugin" id="kpm_plugin"></object>
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[John Mack]

Very cool. Never have seen a crow with a crayfish. Background is nice. Would clone out that small bright spot below the near wing.

[Dorian Anderson]

I'm huge fan of shots that show common/unappreciated species well, and this is just that. Details on dark bird are nice and the crayfish really adds interest. Nice clean BG too! I would get rid of the single white spot south of the right wing. But a very strong shot given the exposure difficulties of this bird.

[gail bisson]

Pretty frikkin" good!
No nits from me!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Well taken and processed, the crow and crayfish look fine.
A personal note - not a fan of the background it looks hammered to me -- soooo smooth, I would prefer a little texture I feel it would appear more natural.

[greg cowle]

Really well done, that crow certainly has a nice dinner!

[Arthur Morris]

I love everything about this one but the bird's face -- that because of the wet feathers. Did you do anything to the bKGR/

with love, artie

[dankearl]

Here is the RAW file for anyone interested.
I use content aware to smooth BG a tad and topaz denoise NR.
I have learned to make decent cropped files I think from the D500.
This was taken at my colorful garden Duck pond.
DSC_1781raw.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=181662&stc=1&d=1559416405)