Night Heron

[PRABIR BHATTACHARYYA]

Night Heron at Ranganthittu, Mysore, Southern India.
The shot was made from a boat.

50D, 400mmf/5.6L
1/1600s, f/5.6, ISO-800, Handheld from boat.
LR3+CS6
Cropped to about 85% of original to eliminate distracting branches.
Highlights tweaked a bit.

Thanks for your views.

[vishaljadhav]

Prabir,

The image looks over saturated on my monitor, the bird is overly blue
I would suggest the image be rotated some Clock wise to get it a bit straighter, additionally the white spots need to be cloned out or toned down

[PhilCook]

Sorry but I have to agree with vishaljadhav as it does look quite overdone with color saturation and contrast, the bird has a distinct plastic look about it. The log or perch looks like it was badly over exposed and an attempt was made to reduce that in editing but has emphasized the problem

[Shawn Zierman]

Good feedback given so far. Would add that I love the eye of this bird!
Would also add that the image "feels" tilted to the left, and, at the time
of capture, a head turn towards you would have worked better than as is
with the head angled away.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Beautiful subject and well focused but the boys above have already mentioned the issues with the image. It was either not the right place and/or right time of day to photograph it. I realize being on a boat may have limited your approach and angle to it.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Prabir, a species I still need a decent shot of. Great eye, and good advice from above. Blending in the highlight areas in the BG will go a long way to improve this.