Nikon D7000, Nikkor 600mm, f5.6, 1/2000, iso 400, aperture priority, matrix, distance to subject 15 meters, tripod, sitting in cattails, late AM on a clear morning. The bird nearly filled the frame. In PP bg was added to the left side of the image and small amount taken from the top. I did not attempt to remove the strip of debris involving the leg reflections. Making the knee reflections look good exceeds my PS skills. IMO cropping above the knee reflection would have made the bottom too tight ( virtual feet ) C & C appreciated.
You have an awesome subject with luscious colors and a lovely angle. You did a great job in adding frame on the left b/c I see no traces. I took this photo into PS to test some crops. The blob in the water really hurts an otherwise wonderful capture. My favorite crop was right down to the bottom of the reflection just before hitting the reflection of the "knees" and removed a little all around also. I feel as though it makes for a stronger image. Cropping virtual feet is not a rule that can never be broken.
Hi Gary, what a great pose, soft light, and you have captured the colours on this fellow so well. Overall, nice and sharp too. I feel cropping off from the bottom as Marina suggested, wont harm the image.
Thanks to Marina and others for the look and critique. My original was cropped as suggested but to my eye looked a bit tight. Viewed through the lens of peer approval the repost looks great.
To me the comp feels more balanced on the OP, but I agree the smudges are unfortunate. Perhaps some careful cloning/patching would take care of that without sacrificing the room below, but I realize it is out of your comfort zone processing-wise. Never a bad time to satrt experimenting! Super colours, sharpness.
I was totally wrong regarding the crop, and agree with Arash, that it now looks unbalanced, I would definitely experiment with some "removal" technology. Sorry about that.
It seems your PS skills are far better than you thought, this makes something that was already very nice indeed into something far better, very well done
WHITE FACED IBIS
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