Limpkin

[Bob Miller]

Nikon D-300
200-400 mm at 400
Handheld
1/2500 sec at f5
ISO 800
Comments welcome! cropping? background?
40%crop

[Bill Jobes]

Very nice shot of a most interesting bird, Bob.
A couple of observations: There seems to be more contrast in the foreground (the bird's back feathers) than in the background (the bird's neck and head). Not that it's objectionable, but I did notice it and wondered why.
As for the background and the crop, I would consider cropping the image by about a fourth, on the left side. Right about the middle of that big bush cluster to the left of the bird.
To my eye, and granted this is very subjective, the photo is totally about the bird, and a tighter crop helps.
A suggestion to consider: when shooting with that exact same gear combination, I try to shoot at least at F/6.3 and, when possible, F/7.1 for the DOF advantage. I find that it helps, especially with large birds, and those that are quite close.
Thanks for posting !

[Lance Peters]

Hi - Agree with Bill's fine critique - I would also like to see all of the legs and back (Not sure if any of the back is clipped)
Looking forward to seeing more :)

[Alfred Forns]

Excellent critique Bill !!!! Great points particularly spotting the light difference !!!

With these birds up close and busy bg its a toss up stopping down or going wide open for a more pleasing bg Having the ability to do some blurring stopping might not be a bad idea !!

The feet are cut but in this case don't mind all that much, the overall image looks natural and do like the surrounding bg !!! Would select the eye and darken the pupil, looks like the membrane is covering the eye or he has a bad case of cataracts :) Excellent image !!!

[Gail Spitler]

Lots of good comments, so I'll just add a big congrats on getting an image of a limpkin when just seeing one is an achievement.
Well done

Cheers
Gail