Reddish Egret

This is my first image post in the Avian forum. I'm usually in the ETL forum, and appreciate all the help I have received there. I decided to post this image here because I'm going to South Padre Island, TX. again this weekend (where this was taken), and hope to find another Reddish Egret. I have struggled with this image for a few reasons, so would like to get some extra feedback to help me improve, not only on the technical aspect, but the PP as well (weak area for me). This photo was shot right as the sun started coming up on a clear, calm morning with a Nikon D7000/500mm f/4-P on a tripod/gimbal @ 1/2000, f/5.6, ISO 400. Comments, suggestions, and tips most welcome and appreciated. :S3:

Love the pose. It is sharp enough. I think that you overdid the processing a bit. For the repost I reduced the SAT 13 points, ran a reverse S Curve to reduce the contrast and give the image a softer look, and did a bit of bill clean-up.

Fantastic shot Jeannean, Artie's RP looks more natural. Excellent composition and interesting pose of a species I'd love to photograph one day.

Jeannean:

Very engaging peek a boo pose, with goo eye contact, feather details.

Agree about the contrast issue. Interesting how dark the lores are compared to the Florida birds I saw last week.

Good luck with your next go around, these guys are great subjects.

Nice job focusing the P lens.

I could see a sliver of canvas off the right side, based on his direction of gaze.

Cheers

Randy

Very nice colors and great action.

Thanks Artie for the repost! I appreciate the comments and suggestions, and hope I get another shot at one this weekend. :S3:

Excellent pose & high-key look. Nice shooting angle.

That is one fantastic pose. Well done.

Great pose captured.

Superb pose. I am not so sure about Artie's re-post which appears to have gone the other way and taken the bang and life out of the image somewhat. I will view again and see if my opinion changes. I have looked at a number of images of this species, since I am not familiar with the plumage colours and I have seen variance in the vibrancy of the colour....maybe some that I have seen are over saturated. For others to decide I suppose. Also in fairness to Arty he has had less pixels to work with. Anyway a superb image.

Jeannean,
I absolutely love this shot.The pose is priceless.I prefer the OP as I find Artie's version a bit washed out.
I think the comp is excellent as is, but could see a version with the bottom cropped to remove the reflected feathers.
I might try to get more detail out of the birds left foot and leg as well.
I also wonder if you could saturated up the pinks in the BG a bit and what that would look like.
A terrific shot that would look great printed up,
Gail

Welcome Jeanean to this forum. This is a great shot the pose is so cool. I personally would like a repost in between yours and Arties.

Unique pose for sure. Like the repost that Artie did, original was a bit saturated.

The composition rocks. The subject pose and personality embodied in the image rocks even harder.
I think either version works in it's own way, and somewhere in between the two would work as well...

Totally unique ! so very different...so very nicely timed....I myself prefer the original with a bit more color/contrast happening

Such an amazing pose!! Sharpeness and techs look good. I agree with the contrast being a tad strong in the OP but I prefer the original colours as they have more of a "first light" feel to them. Good luck on your outing, and welcome to Avian:S3:

Awesome pose. Love the clean fg, bg and the nice details. I prefer the warmth of the original. Very nice, and looking forward to more from SPI.