Cattle Egret... Breeding Colors And Plumage

I captured this image at the rookery in the alligator breeding pond in Gatorland, Orlando, 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, camera and lens supported by a Oben carbon fiber monopod with a Wimberly MonoGimbal head
1/2000 F/6.3 Matrix Metering EV +1/3 ISO 900 Auto 1 WB, image captured at 400mm (600mm 35mm Equivalent)
Post processed in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop CC 2021 and Neat Image for noise reduction, removed some scratches from the bill in photoshop
Cropped for composition and presentation

Wow. You caught this egret in peak breeding plumage. Handsome portrait, nicely captured.

Joe, really really pretty color palette. I didn't realize these guys turned so magnificently as we really don't get them on the front range of the Rockies.

Other than having a tad more room at top and perhaps exchanging one or two stops of SS for depth, I would love to have a frame like this.

Well done!

Awesome pic well done, super sharp

Hi Joe .... very nice portrait !!!
Works well and do like the colorful overall appearance . Cool contrasting greens in the BG !!!
Just think the blue/cyans in the plumage are a tiny bit too strong ...

TFS Andreas

hi Joseph,

congratultaions.
+Andreas ı agree

Quite the colur display, and the fanned head feathers is pretty darn neat. Good BG. I do see the cyan-ish cast on the cheek and neck - easy fix...but wow what a beautiful portrait!!

Fantastic portrait Joseph! I love the breeding colors and the puffed up crown. I do wish you had a touch more DOF...looks like maybe f/8 would have helped. Still great job!

really cool portrait of a common bird, while anyone can make a sharp headshot of an egret but you made it that extra bit special with a nice BG, a good composition and an attractive pose (fanned crown) . I might warm the coolest whites a bit



TFS

Hey Joe, This one is a stunner. Love the image design and the plumage. what was the date including the year? I agree with Andre in that some of the whites have some BLUE/CYAN ...

with love, a

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Arthur Morris

Hey Joe, This one is a stunner. Love the image design and the plumage. what was the date including the year? I agree with Andre in that some of the whites have some BLUE/CYAN ...

with love, a

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Hi Artie, thank you for viewing and commenting. This image was captured when we could go to Gatorland without worry, March 30, 2017. I am sure the blue came from the bird being in shadow. I fixed it in Photoshop Selective Color tool. Thanks again, Artie.

What a gorgeous portrait!
Love the colors, IQ and BG.
I see a bit of blue in some of the whites (Cheek and neck).
Agree with Brian for a smidge more room up top.
I like this a lot!

Great portrait. Love those breeding colors. That hair do rocks.

Thanks everyone for viewing and commenting, much appreciated.