Green Heron

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Yesterday I was shooting at the Viera Wetlands West of Melbourne Florida for the first time this year and ran into this Green Herron, which I think is an exceptionally nice looking bird. I was wondering how the partial bird will be recieved by the critiquers as I think it is quite good, but I can understand why some would consider it incomplete. Please let me know how you feel. Shootining info below:
Nikon D300
2010:02:05 15:43:01
850mm
1275mm (in 35mm film)
1/640 sec, f/5.6
Mode: Av
Metering: Spot
Exp comp: -2/3
ISO: 800
AF mode: AF-C
White balance: AUTO
Flash: Off
File size: 14.3MB
Image size: 4352 x 2868
Color space: AdobeRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal

[Ofer Levy]

Nice detail and sharp. I like the pose. Maybe a bit off the top.

[Grace Scalzo]

Wheeler, As the bird is moving into the frame, I think that this crop can work. The intensity of the pose and the bird's stare is nice. There is something a bit harsh about the processing here, or it might be the light conditions that you were photographing in. I hope that you share more from your time at Viera. I would like to spend a good amount of time there.

[Stephen Stephen]

Wheeler I don't mind the composition at all. I like teh blurred raised foot which provide a sense of motion.

I would consider cloning out the OOF branch about the bird's back. Also the bird's head is looking slightly away from you. Did you manage any other images with a better head angle?

[Wheeler McDougal Jr.]

Thank you all for your thoughts. To answer Stephen's question, no I didn't get a better head angle as a matter of fact most of the time he was facing away from me. I was really quite lucky to get what I got. Thanks again.