Cormorant I

[Jim Miller]

Crystal River, Florida. Nikon F100, 80-400mm, Fuji Superia ISO 400, scanned. I was lucky to get very close to a perching cormorant. Until then, I hadn't known about the amazing eye color. This shot composed to feature the eye and the rhythm of individual feathers with strong diagonal lines. Thanks for looking and for any comments. Jim

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Nice pose Jim but it`s a bit tight in the frame for my taste

[Jim Poor]

That eye is pretty hypnotic.

I like what you are doing with the close crop, but I wish for a position of the eye that is closer to the rule of thirds (ROT). Some of the black areas seem too black for me, especially on top of the head.

There is a sharpening halo around the bill.

I think you're on to something here though so maybe a start from the original to recover some of the shadow detail and crop a bit differently.

[Paul Pagano]

I like the feeling of intimacy with the bird in this shot. I am thinking maybe more of the head and less of the body, for me it would add to that intimate feeling. I agree with comments about more details in the dark areas. I have a tough time with black areas myself. All in all, I like the shot. Nice.

[Dave Phillips]

congrats on getting close Jim.....cormies are very skiddish here in Louisiana.
Agreed more head may be better comp, unless the feather detail is of exceptional quality
ans shimmering some color to complement the eye

[Brian Wong]

Hi Jim!

The eye color is killer! But I think the noise and the really bright beak is taking a lot away for me.