Virginia Rail III

[Bonnie Block]

http://www.pbase.com/herderdog/image/129730988/original.jpg

Another pose of the Virginia Rail from Malhuer NWR in Central Oregon.
I had a tough time cropping this one--ended up with this. I missed super critical focus on the eye--so a tighter crop shows that a little. The bg also gets really busy in the tighter crop for me. Plus--I like the reflection. :)
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/eos_1d_mark_iv) ,Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS USM (http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/ef_500_4is)
1/1600s f/4.0 at 500.0mm iso800

[Ilija Dukovski]

Any image of a Rail is worth the praise, this one is very good.
A better angle would be good but I like it as it is too.
The action posture is very nice, and makes the image IMO.
Eye looks sharp to me. The only thing I would change,
actually, is the reflection:). Either all of the bird should be
reflected of crop it out completely.

Cheers,