Right Crop...Wrong Crop?

[Matt Lerer]

I have a bunch of these from this afternoon at Wako and wasn't sure how to crop something like this. It looks a lot better to me in a larger size image but I am stuck with the 1024 here. Would this be an acceptable crop? Maybe the grebe with only a couple water splashes?

Any help would be appreciated...
http://photos.imageevent.com/ghireptiles/nature/GreebBPN.jpg

[Julie Brown]

Matt, I like the action you are showing here. Not sure about the crop-can you give it more room at the top or bottom?

[Matt Lerer]

Plenty of room for both but wasn't sure about too much space making the grebe look too small?

BTW shooting info:

Mark IV
1/8000
f4
ISO 400
300mm 2.8

Any better here?
http://photos.imageevent.com/ghireptiles/nature/GreebBPN2.jpg

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the splash trail, it sure adds to the image but bird is somewhat small in the frame and and the wing position isn't best. TFS

[Bob Pelkey]

Nice action shot. The second crop is much more appealing. I'd recommend lowering the grebe slightly without changing the crop again, brighten the image and adjust contrast just enough to give the water splashes greater clarity in the shot.

[Randy Stout]

Matt:

I might consider sacrificing the right two splashes, in order to give the bird more impact. I think there are still enough splashes to tell the story.

Just an option.

[Deborah Hanson]

I do like the repost by Randy as it makes the bird larger in the image. The splashes are great and an important part of the 'story'.
Catching the bird running across the water was well done and I like the wing position - it appears that it is just about to take off after getting up the energy from the run.
The reflection is nice as well.
The water seems really blue - if mine, I probably would tone down a bit and try to lighten the water splashes to bring more attention to them.

Deb

[Matt Lerer]

Thanks for the tips and re-post...I love it! It was a 17 shot sequence and I've got every conceivable wing position available for me to play with. The last shot is interesting because it shows the grebe settling back into the water and he's sliding on his belly with both back legs extended behind him and in the air. I would think he didn't want to have too much drag. Thanks for the help and advice!