Tri-Colored Heron

[James Alexander]

It was a beautiful morning at Ding Darling.

Support: Handheld
Canon 7D
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II + 2.0 TC
Focal Length: 400mm
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 400
SS: 1/1600
Eval Comp: +.67
Location: Ding Darling, Sanibel Island, FL
Time: 9:30 AM
Date: 02-01-11
Adjustments in Aperture: Added some definition and sharpening, slight crop, attempted to brighten up the yellows a tad

All feedback very welcome

[Lance Peters]

Hi James - techs look solid - like the action and the splash of the water adds interest.
Id be tempted to crop some of the negative space from the top - reflection is nice and strong which warrants its inclusion.
Could clean up some of the water in the bG if you were so inclined.
Like it!!

[Peter Farrell]

Very nice James. The bird, reflection, waterdrops all look great. I agree with Lance on crop and cleanup of the water.
Peter

[Paul Guris]

Beautiful image. I think you may be able to tone down the bird a bit. It looks like it's in bright light to me. You might also give it a lick of sharpening. The reflection (which is gorgeous) looks sharper to me than the bird. Eye color really pops nicely.

I think Lance's suggestion of a little off the top might be nice, especially with all that grunge up there, and I'd probably take a little from the right as well.

As for water cleanup, I'd personally probably limit it to that to the bit behind the head and maybe the bit above the tail, but then I seem to like my photos with a more variety / imperfections (depending upon your point of view) than many experienced photographers on this site.

[James Alexander]

Lance, Peter, and Paul-
I very much appreciate you taking the time and effort to respond. All your comments make excellent sense, and will try and learn from them. Cordially, Alex