Willet

[Bill Dix]

Dull looking birds when standing on the beach, they are much more striking in appearance once they take flight. This was a grab shot as he flew over Scarborough Marsh a few weeks ago. Large crop.

D500, Sigma 150-600C @ 600mm, ISO 1250, 1/2500s @ f/6.3

[David Roach]

Flat winged but a great underside view with perfect HA. Like the high key here and only wish for a little more in the shadows. TFS

[Brian Sump]

Bill, nice entry for the theme. Great eye contact and a solid underside view.

For me it has a pretty strong green hue so maybe take a look at that. As far as crop, I'd prefer a touch higher in the frame but the right of center works well.

Very big crop?

[Dorian Anderson]

Striking image, Bill. A good theme shot, for sure. I'd move the bird up in the frame a bit. It feels bottom heavy now. Can't get a better head angle though. Nice crisp look from the subject!

[Bill Dix]

Thanks guys. I've moved the bird up a bit in the frame, and moved the color balance sider 12 points toward magenta to mitigate the green hue in the mid-tones. WDYT?

[Brian Sump]

Bill, IMO the re-crop is perfect. Maybe split the difference on the tint front, the whites appear better to my eye but the magentas now are maybe a little too strong.

Good job putting in the work on the second go!

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Brian. The drug store reading glasses that I use when working on the computer impart a slight magenta cast, so I try to look at an image with and without them, but I'm never sure I've gotten it just right. Time for another trip to the drug store.