Bird In The Sun, Background In The Shade

I captured this image yesterday at Circle B Bar Reserve in Polk County, Florida. The bird was perched in the sun light against a background of deep shade. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D500
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED image captured at 400mm
1/2000 F/5.6 Matrix Metering EV -2/3 ISO 720 Auto 1 WB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic CC, Photoshop CC 2019 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation

I like the heron very much but I would experiment with the blacks/shadows and or contrast to see what could be done about the blotches in the background (I had similar problem with some deer images recently)

Sweet shot of the Tricolor - sharp and well exposed. He might have picked a more weathered post, but the bird stands out nicely against the dark BG. I see what Jonathan means about the blotches. Dark backgrounds can be tough.

The bird really pops against that shaded background. The composition is nice as well.

Details look excellent here Joe! Love the way the bird looks against the dark background. I am not sure what the guys are seeing but on my 5k Imac the background looks spot on perfect. A bit varied with some greenish and purplish tones. Very nice indeed. You know I have to bring up the perch though right? I don't like it or the white wash on it. If you had a better perch this would be one of the best shots I have ever seen of a Tri-colored heron.

A great look at this heron! Nice details, super pose, and the colours look spot-on. I love the dark BG, and think it could go even darker. I am not in love with the perch, but I would still love a bit more room below. Nicely done, Joe!

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, very much appreciated.

Very well done. As noted above, perch is NTG but BKGR rocks. As does the bird and the EXP.

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