Horned Grebe

[Ed Vatza]

Came across three Horned Grebes this morning at Peace Valley Park in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Made a bunch of images but think this one may be the best of the lot. The Grebe was constantly on the move and the angle of light wasn't always ideal. And I was shooting from a bridge over the end of a lake so I couldn't get any lower without jumping off the bridge and into the lake.:(

Images were made with my Canon 30D and 400mm f/5.6 lens.

1/400 sec at f/5.6; ISO 320; EC=0; image cropped from 3504x2336 to 2621x1747.

Please let me know what you think.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s1/EdV_02/0803__113.jpg

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Nice find and pose. The ripples add to it. I might increase the color temperature a bit and tone down the whites. You could also try to put the bird higher in the frame or crop a bit off the top.

[Fabs Forns]

Very nice, Ed. I like to have the ripples behind. Crop from the top would be fine. Love he eye :)

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks Axel. Thanks Fabs. I appreciate the feedback. I will try some of the adjustments you suggest, Axel.

Overall, I really like this image - particularly the eye (I think the head angle made it pop) and I just really love the ripples in the water out in front as well as behind. Glad to hear that you agree.

[Caroline Darmo]

I like this Ed, you have a great head turn & the red eye grabs my attention. The bird's wake is very nice. Some minus exposure compensation would help to keep details in the whites. These are really interesting birds, thanks for sharing.

[Ed Vatza]

I like this Ed, you have a great head turn & the red eye grabs my attention. The bird's wake is very nice. Some minus exposure compensation would help to keep details in the whites. These are really interesting birds, thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the critique, Caroline. I did some minus EC in PP but could have done some in camera to help with the whites. The PP helped but nothing like getting it right in the camera. :)