Sexy Legs

[PhilCook]

Not a great shot IQ wise, poor time of day, but my first fairly close encounter with this species, unable to get closer due to a deep water channel between me and bird.....pretty rare in dry South Australia so pleased to of got a shot at all.

Kinda liked it's slightly raised foot...very elegant

Canon 7D + 500 f4 + 1.4 x TC.....700mm, f6.3, 1/2000, ISO 500, tripod mounted, no flash, manual exposure......cropped, selective sharpen and highlight tweak

[Karl Egressy]

This bird has a striking beauty. Very nice image, Phil. I like the pose, HA is very nice and the lifted foot implies motion. The red head is striking.

[Derek Willcox]

Nice Phil like hoe you have captured it on land and in full pose you might have captured at the wrong time but it sure brings out the red of the head

[Daniel Cadieux]

I agree with your comments Phil, but anytime you get such an encounter with a rarity it makes up for it doesn't it! You exposed best you could with the light getting harsh, and the colours are indeed nice. Maybe getting even lower would have help smooth out the BG even more...

[Satish Ranadive]

Phil:
Great image with beautifully colored head,nice HA,raised foot and eye.
Love the frame.

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

I too like the raised foot and the profile pose. You did well with the harsh light and the exposure looks good to me. Maybe lacking on the feather detail a bit but not bad. You didnt say the birds name but obviously looks like your type of Avocet. TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

Phil I like the image very much, I don't think the quality is bad and I think you could improve it by reducing the size of the crop. The bird is quite big in the frame and I think a little more space may even enhance the image.

[PhilCook]

Thanks and oops for not saying it is an Avocet....perhaps Jonathon is right about cropping the bird smaller in the frame

[Michael Rominger Jr]

I agree with your own assesment Phil. Looks like you did your best with what you had to work with and I think I would be happy with the result in the same situation. Beautiful bird and I like the pose/head angle/foot raise. Nice clean BG and FG are nice with good seperation.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very elegant indeed! lovely avocet, light is harsh but I would also have shoot this one for record! amazing beak! TFS