American White Ibis... Breeding Colors

My previous post was a American White Ibis as it appears most of the year. This post is when it is breeding colors in April and March. The tip of the bill blackens, the gular sac enlarges and the face turns cherry red. Image captured at Lake Morton in Lakeland, Florida. 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
1/1250 F/8 Matrix Metering EV 0 ISO 900 Auto 1 WB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2019 and Neat Image for noise reduction
Cropped for composition and presentation

P.S. Learn more about Lake Morton in the BAA Middle Florida Photography Site Guide that Artie and I co-authored. It is available on the Birds As Art Online Store.

Another JP classic. Love the pose, SH and direction of light with fall off of light and focus accentuating the journey to that eye/face. TFS

I like this, despite the fact that the near side of the body is in shadow.
The breeding colors are superb.
Whites look good.
I still think I would like this better if you had been on the other side of the bird.
The color palette is really nice- especially how the blue eye picks up the blue in the BG.
Gail

The breeding colors are great. Like the framing and the detail on those whites. Blue water background is another plus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gail bisson

I like this, despite the fact that the near side of the body is in shadow.
The breeding colors are superb.
Whites look good.
I still think I would like this better if you had been on the other side of the bird.
The color palette is really nice- especially how the blue eye picks up the blue in the BG.
Gail

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Hey Gail, thank you for viewing and commenting, much appreciated. I do have this one but I did not post because the membrane over part of the eye bugs me.

Killer bird and techs and processing are spot-on. I do not even hate the sidelight in Pane 1. Why? Because the light is so soft.

with love, artie

ps: if you'd like to visit Lake Morton, Circle Bar B, other great Lakeland locations, and a few more great spots, check out The BAA Middle of Florida Site Guide that I co-wrote and co-illustrated with Joe.

I like both shots. I think the membrane on the second post shuld be an easy fix with a bit of cloning.
I too think that you have exposed and prossesed these perfectly. Plenty of detail in the whites and a beautiful light. I also noticed how the eye compliments the color of the background which is nice.

Very nice. I love the layered feathers at bottom right. Gorgeous blues, and I like the details in the skin texture.