Short Billed Dowitcher Bathing.

A necessarily compositionally tight shot of a short billed dowitcher bathing in a soccer field, that was photographed during this previous spring migration. Air temp was lower 40s....I donned a ski mask, shorts, and t-shirt for my wet and slow approach. It was good to be in the water again after a long winter that still held massive amounts of ice on Lake Superior, a stone's throw away from where this image was made. Canon7d, Sigma50/500os, iso800, f9, hardly cropped, NR to the bg, USM. Comments and critiques welcome.
Regards,
Shawn Zierman.

Shawn certainly fills the frame,really like the low angle that you have got and the wing movement with the splashing water, I would be very pleased to have this.

Keith.

Bit tight for me,but a nice image all the same,nice light,some good detail,low pov.TFS.

Nice one Shawn, your efforts were well rewarded. Well done

hi.nice low angle.I like warm color an soft bkg.TFS

Great Shot, Lighting in the image is spot on.......... :)

Love the eye level perspective and the nice breeding plumage and all that splashing. EXP, SH, and IQ right on. A bit more space all around would be nice. I'd have love to have seen about 1 or 2 degrees more of head turn towards you as the bill is angled ever-so-slightly away from you....

Lovely light and great POV.
Lots of nice details and love the droplets.
I am OK with the HA ( I actually think the bill is towards us a bit)
Would like a bit more room all around but still very nice as presented.
I don't know how you feel about cloning but I would evict the black smudge around the tail,
gail

Killer light, shooting angle and pose. Love the green in the bg, top of the frame.
Yes, a bit tight, but I'm digging it.
I'm with Gail on evicting the smudge by the tail. I'd also evict the couple of oof bits in front of the bird. Not major distractions by any stretch, just gilding the lily.
Great plumage on this beauty!

Very nice light colors and pose, Shawn.

Alright, you guys are great and that's why I appreciate participating on this forum. I think I gilded the lilly kinda down and dirty as directed by Gail and Sidarth on this repost....Subtle, but better yes no?