Black-crowned Night heron

[Patricio Murphy]

After six months with almost no shooting due to some health issues, this vacation in the south of my country gave me the chance to catch up. It was also my first sessions with my new D300, and I'm still getting used to the AF system (which I like, BTW). Hope to be more participative this year!

http://www.patriciomurphy.com.ar/foros/ushuaia/20100318_1878.jpg

Nikon D300,
Sigma 400mm f/5.6 APO
1/1000, f/8
ISO800

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Lovely first capture and I am glad you are out and about again. congratulations on your new camera too. Great timing and excellent action and eye contact. I would have love to see a little more lighting to light up the whole bird. Look forward to your future posts and many thanks for sharing.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Patricio,
Welcome back and glad to see you feeling better! I agree with Judy Lynn about a bit of lightening....although I also wish for a bit of cleaner BG too. Nice pose on the night heron but it is a bit tight.....even for me who usually likes them tight.

[Grace Scalzo]

Nice way to jump back in! Good luck with your new gear, look forward to more of your images. I do love the orange eyes of these juveniles and your image shows that off nicely.

[Patricio Murphy]

Thanks for the critiques!
I'll edit a lighter version, and while I like the fact that the background shows the algae (typical from the location), I'll clean a bit the birds surroundings and see how it works. Thanks again!

Edit: I went to see the original, and it's actually lighter. Is it possible that it got darker when I downsized it?