Another is the series from Darling NWR - GBH dancing??

This GBH inexplicably began prancing about in the second pond at Ding Darling a week ago last Thursday. He was looking at me the whole time too. I can't begin to contemplate what was going through his heron brain.

Canon 1D Mark IV, ISO 800; 500 mm f/4L IS MK I; 1/3200 sec. @ f/8.0. PP in LR 4.3. Nearly full frame, but cropped a little left and bottom for composition. Because of the side-lighting, I lightened the shadows on the right side of the neck, and under the wings, and reduced highlights on the left side of the bird. Some clarity, sharpening, and BG NR. C/C always appreciated.

Nice action captured. Harsh light makes it a bit contrasty. Also seems a bit soft.

Hi Joe, I don't believe this is terribly soft. Here is a 1:1 (100%) crop of the center of the photo, including the head and eye. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. If there's something I can do to get this sharper, I would appreciate the help. Thanks!

Hi Dennis,
I really like the pose and the water trail from the feet.
Looks sharp to me.
It is too bad the right side of face is in shadow so would dodge that are a bit and crop tighter to give the viewer a better look at the head as it gets lost in the overall image
Gail

Thanks Gail...I will try a tighter crop and repost shortly. I will try to dodge the shadowed side of the face too. Thanks again.

Here is another try. I cropped tighter and tried to dodge the area on the shadowed side of the face. I also took another shot at muting the highlights on the sun side of the bird. Thanks everyone for your helpful comments.

I really like the repost Dennis! The shot looks quite sharp to me! I really like the pose, and it does look like it's dancing on water.

I didn't know the GBH did the drunken sailor dance!
Sharpness looks good to me, and I like the trail he has left behind. Comp wise I'd go between the OP and your last repost.

Thanks Sidharth. I have never seen this behavior either. The normal behavior of this bird is to remain motionless (sometimes for very long periods) and let the fish come to them before they strike. I have about 20 photos in this series, and I might be persuaded to share another. :S3: In the meantime, I have a number of these on my website in the "Latest Images" page. Thanks again.

Stunning image well captured, no issue on sharpness for me. I would perhaps try a crop somewhere between the OP and the RP. For me the OP has a little too much space op top and to the LHS the RP is better for this but i like the complete splash in fron of the bird so would leave more space there.

Thanks Brendon...I will take another look at the crop. You're not the only one to mention a crop between the OP the RP.

BTW, I just clicked on your website link and got a 404 - Error. There must be a typo in the link somewhere. Thanks again.