Please shred this one!!

[Harold Davis]

took this one yesterday at ahinga trail. really not much action compared to last year. last year cormies lined the entrance to the trail. this year hardly any. but i cant complain, nice to get outta town to what i call civilization.

go ahead a shread this one. i look forward to hearing the critiques. thanks!!

processed in capture nx. just slight levels adjust and no crop. full frame photo.

D300, Sigma 50-500 at 500mm, f/8, 1/800s, -1.3EV, ISO 220, no flash, handheld.

i gotta learn how to resize the file size along with the dimensions. this compression is terrible:eek:

[Jim Poor]

The way I see it, you could either crop it or add canvass to move the eye to a stronger position.

A few dust bunnies cleaned up and a color boost is about all I'd do. I like it.

[Hilke Breder]

How did you manage to get this clear a shot handheld at 500mm? I have a similar setup and my images turn up fuzzy even at 200!

[Harold Davis]

i dont know. i guess it's because i do it all the time. recently i've been trying to teach my wife photography so i leave the tripod behind. i guess it's just the practice. thanks for the compliment.

and i always try to make sure that i am shooting a shutter speed at least the inverse of the focal length or faster. example: 500mm = at least 1/500s or faster.

[Alfred Forns]

Good looking head shot Harold !!! Would try copping a bit different Don't like the eye in the center of the frame Excellent bg btw would try using a tripod at those magnifications I know its more convenient hand holding but quality will suffer Remember similar is different and different is not the same !!! Try it !!!

Would also run a noise program for the bg !!! Love those anhingas btw I think I got my best yawning pose to date this morning at Anhinga !!!

[George DeCamp]

Hey Harold!

You got nice and close here and got yourself a nice image. Agree on Al's crop and the tripod thought. I also like to take hand held (HH) shots but my keeper rate and sharpness is better on a tripod. That said I mostly use the 200-400vr hand held for flight shots but it is shorter than what you are using but it does have VR to help with lens shake. I think you may have a little softness here even though it is pretty sharp, I bet you can do even better on a tripod.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the composition and BG. The eye looks a bit soft and I would prefer a slight head turn toward you. There is some strong posterization in the BG.

[Gus Cobos]

Very Very Nice Shot Harold,

I love it, composition, and colors are dead on; Like the background.

Congrats...:D

Gus...:cool: