I got this image after everyone left

[Muhammad Arif]

I was at a wildlife refuge and whole bunch of photographers including myself were busy making images of a bald eagle. Once the sun went below the horizon, everyone packed up and left. I was the only one who stayed behind anticipating a burst of colors in the western sky. Well, do you think stayed out late paid off? Besides a slight crop and the usual brightness/color/contrast adjustments, nothing else was done - nothing cloned out. Canon EOS R, 500mm (old five) + 1.4x III, 1/500, f/5.6 at ISO 1600.

[Randy Stout]

Muhammad:

People often are in such a hurry, that they miss some of the best moments to photograph, often with quite distinctive colors and profiles to work with.

Nice pose, colors and framing. The challenge for this one are the number of stalks in the water. It will be too busy for some folks tastes. I did try a version with the contrast on the upper portion of the frame (above the head) reduced, to reduce the visual impact of the clutter. It did soften it, but really a matter of taste.

Cheers

Randy

[Brian Sump]

Hi Muhammad!

A very noble (and quite beautiful) attempt you made here. So many great aspects to it.

The colors are so nice. I like your choice of exposure and processing (personally, I like that there is a very faint amount of details on the subject, though there's an argument to go ahead and fully black it out also).

I do agree with Randy, the number of stalks in the water above the subject's shoulder line detract from the overall viewing of the image. That said, you should also consider a slight clockwise rotation of the image. It could also benefit cutting off the bottom of the frame up until you reach that darker blob of the head in the reflection. That would position the subject more into the bottom 2/3 of the frame with it also being in the right 1/3.

Love the effort here!

[Dorian Anderson]

The colors and composition are really stunning, even if you could take a bit off the bottom as Brian suggested. I agree about too many stumps. I don't know what access looked like at this site, but
you might have been able to minimize -- and even utilize -- them if you got lower and shot with your lens right on water's surface. Extreme low angle is my favorite way to shoot, so that's where
my mind naturally goes with an opportunity like this.

[Randy Stout]

I agree with Dorian about a lower point of view, it would have also helped minimize the effect of the stumps in the distant background.

Cheers

Randy

[Muhammad Arif]

Great feedback. I learned a lot. Thank you for your comments and suggestions.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Muhammad ....
just love the image with it´s gorgeous colors and the overall composition , great that you extracted that hint of detail in the subject !!!

Absolutely no nits from my side ... would not change a thing .
TFS Andreas

[Daniel Cadieux]

Yep, lower would have been the bomb (if lower was possible there) as it would have indeed played those stumps to your advantage and thrown the BG to a creamy oof wall-of-colours for the heron to stand out against. Having said this, you got some stunning colours here, and processed tastefully. Must have been quite a serene morning!