Spoonie at Alafia

[Melissa Groo]

Canon 7d
500mm
1/1600 sec at f/8.0, ISO 400
Gitzo 3530LS/Wimberley full head
shot from water

From my day out with Shadle a couple months back, Tampa Bay. Late afternoon light.
I look forward to all comments and critiques. Thanks for looking.

Post-processing--some Recovery for white areas, Smart Sharpening, NR. About a 50% crop.

[Clemens Vanderwerf]

Melissa,

I like the light, colors and posture of the spoonie. Waterdrops are nice too. Might put it a fraction lower in the frame to create a bit more room on the top, but other than that a great image.

[Mike Milicia]

Lovely light and colors with excellent detail!

Agree about a bit more room at the top but would also add even more room at the bottom to make room for the "virtual feet".

[Humberto Ramos]

Like the pose, the bird is beautifull with amazing colours. Agree with more room at the top.

[Greg Basco]

Hi, Melissa. Great exposure and sharpness. Since you mentioned you cropped, I agree with Mike that leaving more room at the bottom would improve this nice image.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Dumay de Boulle]

Very nice IQ and colors...Agree re space...If you have more room a;ll around a vertical crop might work.

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent pose and nice details Melissa, nice as is but if mine I'd go vertical on this with ore room on the bottom

[Melissa Groo]

Here is a horizontal with more space above and below.
Thanks so much to all for the comments.

[Melissa Groo]

and a vertical....
Hope I am not transgressing by posting 2 more pics, I just wanted to get people's opinions as to which is preferable.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Very nice Melissa. Fantastic colors, pose and HA.
I think this works both in horizontal and vertical crops, but I'd definitely prefer a looser crop; more so especially in your vertical report.

[James Shadle]

Melissa,
I finally get to critique one of your images!

What a beautiful subject.

Take a look at this crop - I added space at the bottom based on the Spoonbills leg length.
Quickie cloning for educational purposes only:w3.

Keep them coming!

James

[Ofer Levy]

Sharpness, detail and exposure look good to me.
Used James repost to make this vertical - haven't changed anything but the crop.

[Melissa Groo]

Nice job, Ofer and James! I like them both very much. James, I'd forgotten how long their legs are! thanks for the correction.