The fledgling eye has it...

[David Roach]

EOS R EF400 DO I 1.4xtc II f8 1/250 ISO 2000
On overcast drizzly morning with very few on boardwalk at Wako, this fledgling was perched close in pond apple with good angle for clean BG. I went for very intimate view wide open (one stop down for this distance and tack sharpness) to emphasize the eye contact. Yes, I knew the bill would be OOF and remembered Artie's early lessons from his classic book (the eye is what you need). The focus box was right on the back of the eye and cheek. What do you think?

Thanks as always for your valued comments and critiques on previous posts. Looking forward to more of same.

[Arthur Morris]

Beautifully framed, nice soft light, and a killer background. Well done on all counts.

a -- in Scotland heading for puffins

ps: forgot the perfect head turn with perfect d-o-f.(I am fine with the slightly o-o-f bill tip -- I never even noticed it until I typed the first part of this sentence :)

[David Roach]

Have fun with those puffins... Excited by Sony's new telephoto glass. Should increase pressure on Canon et al to release telephoto range native mirrorless glass sooner... Can't wait for RF telephoto glass.
As always, thanks for sharing your extensive knowledge.
Peace,
David

[John Mack]

Looking good. Nice pose and detail. Composition is right on as well. Background is another plus.

[Daniel Cadieux]

As a fan of tight portraits like this I am loving all the detail. A bit more dof would have been great, but you were already at f/8 so it would have been impossible to get the full bill in focus. I'm liking it as is anyhow.

[Paul Burdett]

Great FFD, colours and sharpness. If it were mine I'd remove the (for me distracting) grass bits above the head. TFS

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice look at this juvenile Tri-colored Heron. Great feather detail and colors, nice background (there is a couple areas I might smooth out in Photoshop). Thank you for sharing, David.

Something you might think about... with these long billed birds difficult at best to get the tip of the bill sharp. I have only been to Wakodahatchee once, I remember the boardwalk to be similar to the boardwalk at Gatorland. When I shoot portraits at Gatorland, if close to the bird I use F/11. In close it doesn't add much over F/8 but sometimes it is the difference of a sharp bill tip or not. Another way is to use F/5.6 or 8 and move back planning to crop later.