Theme: Cattle Egrets

[Layton E Parham]

Cattle Egrets displaying their Nuptual Plumage, St Augustine, Fl. Canon 5D Mark II, 500 F4L Is, @F4, 1/100 sec. ISO 200, manual mode

[Paul Randall]

Lovely scene Layton, both birds look splendid.
The image looks a little dark on my screen and I feel the RHS bird is a little too close to the frame edge.
You could perhaps add a bit more room on the right and at frame bottom or try a 3:4 ratio crop (with a little more room on the RHS) instead of the 2:3 format presented.

[Colin Driscoll]

Love the colors and detail. Not sure about the bg though, the brighter shape is a bit distracting and could be toned down.

[dankearl]

Very nice, I like the dark BG and the pose of the pair.
The red beaks really stand out.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

I love this shot...terrific contrast, two good bird angles and shows what the rookery habitat is. I really like the fact that there is nothing between you and the left bird....and whatever there is in front of the second bird as near the feet and not very distracting.

If mine, I'd work on the eye of the right bird.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the double poses, and the colours look great. A bit dark, as stated, but if you are going for late-day "after the sunset" feel then this wrroks well that way. The dry twig running above the heads and touching the left bird is unfortunate, but understandably hard to avoid in such rookeries. I agree with a bit more room at right if you have it.

The 5D II can handle high ISOs...don't be afraid to but it up in low light!

[Grace Scalzo]

Nice work, Layton. That was such a difficult place to photograph and you made lemonade from lemons. I like the symmetry of the two birds and like the dark feel, gives the image a bit of mood.

[denise ippolito]

Layton, I like the double poses and the slight dark mood adds some interest. Nice job with the capture.:S3: