Before the Day...

Another image created before sunrise. This beauty was perched in a cypress and framed by those hanging branches. I set ISO to 1600 (yes already ran one round of NR) set compensation to +.33 (evaluative metering) because of mostly dark tones (cropped some off the top) which left me with 1/15 shutter speed. So I locked down the Mongoose head and held on tight. While the bird was stationary except for occasional head movement, those plumes were blowing in a light pre-dawn breeze giving the blur(what I like about the image). As always , comments, critiques and learnings always welcome!
1DMKIIN 400DO ISO 1600 f4@1/15

I like the pose and setting and details look good despite the low shutter speed. I see a strong blue color cast on my monitor. Raising the color temperature might fix this. I would consider cloning out the blue spot at the top.

Very nice shot David, almost haunting in some respects. Lighting is great and NR did a super job. I tend to Agree with Axwl, I too have a strong blue cast on my monitor.

I like the sharpness of the eye; it really makes this image by anchoring a subject with some motion blur. Agree about the blue cast. Here's a repost with a levels adjustment on the bird and to a lesser extent the BG.

I like the levels adjustment on the bird (in your repost), but prefer the darker BG. I warmed it up and took off the sat on the blue channel. Since I reprocessed from raw, other settings might not be the same. Any better?

magic shot Dave,I like your repost better,but I think doug as done the best,wish I had took it,great shot thanks.

A beautiful compositon. I prefer Doug's rework. The slight blurring from the wind gives it a nice glow, Orton-like.