American Bittern

[Paul Kusmin]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3306/3568667555_a308662691_o.jpg

Couple of weeks ago I had a chance encounter with a bittern and was able to capture it in the long grass, an environment it is quite comfortable in. : )

D300 + 500mm f4 AFS-1 + 1.4x tele + tripod

Exposure: 1/1000
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 700 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: -4/3 EV
Flash: On

Thanks for looking!

[Gayle Clement]

Beautiful bird in his typical bittern pose. They're usually so well camouflaged they're tough to find.

[Scott Frye]

The bittern is so colorful that the busy background and foreground are not a bother. The face and upraised beak are free from the blades of grass. Nice capture.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the setting, pose and eye contact. Maybe a bit more room at the bottom for the 'virtual feet' and I might desaturate the greens a few points.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Crop-wise I would actually go the opposite and take some more off the bottom (and then a little bit at left to balance it out). The image looks oversaturated. Otherwise very nice. Love the pose, grasses (which are beautifully separated from the OOF BG)

[Ramon M. Casares]

I would only suggest to crop a little bit from the left, but other than that I like it, nice posem eviroment, light, colors and detail. Congratulations!

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

Very nice bittern image. Love how the habitat surrounds it.
Not sure but I have a feeling about a slight oversaturation.

Szimi

[Daniel Cadieux]

I was at work when I originally commented (during my break of course!!) thus couldn't repost. Here is the crop I had in mind. P.S. I desat the image 10 points.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w98/dancad/3568667555_a308662691_o1.jpg

[Paul Kusmin]

It looks great Daniel, I prefer it to my original .
I suppose it was a little too saturated.
Much appreciated all!