Black-crowned Night Heron

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image at a rookery in north Tampa. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 500mm PF, Handheld
1/3200 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 2500 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 500mm (750mm 35mm Equivalent)
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2022 and Topaz Denoise AI
Cropped for composition and presentation

[Jonathan Ashton]

It's a peach - would not change a thing :5

[Dorian Anderson]

The pose and proportioning are perfect, but the head doesn't look sharp; it looks a bit crunchy as it. I do love the background, and the feet peeking out are fun as well.

[David Roach]

Perfect flight pose and position in the frame for me. That eye looks great. TFS

[Joseph Przybyla]

I did some more work on the image. Here is a repost. Which do you like best?

[David Roach]

Hi Joe, I'm no pixel peeper but you definately pulled out more detail on the bird (most noticable in the far wing, but everywhere) and this BG version really makes this beauty pop. I'd say much better on the tones and contrast overall. TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Joe ... nice work , all works well in terms of comp , flight pose etc .
Love the red eye.
RP looks better as the subject pops more from the BG .
I am with Dorian that the head ( and other parts ) shows slight motion blur .... but might be eyes , or my large monitor makes the things more visible .

TFS Andreas

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, much appreciated.