I was pretty pleased with this photo given the low shooting level. It was a nice weekend for a change in the UK so grabbed the opportunity to get out for some photography. The only think I'm unsure of is perhaps I need to take a tiny bit off the top.
Canon 7d, 500mm + 1.4X, F8, 1/1000ss, tripod on Wimberley Gimbal. Processed in LR4, levels and small amount of USM after image resize.
I would have tried to get some more of the reflection so it is not too near the bottom. Still a nice shot, i always find it difficult to get a good shot of a dark bird.
I like the image as presented, sometimes I think there is a temptation to make all portraits frame fillers and I am not convinced it is always necessary. the plumage is excellent the bill and (forgotten the word - the white bit) look good but I suspect you could apply a mask and tease a little more detail.
I like the exposure and the details, but I agree that a more vertically centered bird might b better, with a bit less at the top and more at the bottom.
It's a very nice shot! But for me, the sum of the bird and its reflection puts too much weight at the bottom of the image. If there was some OOF detail in the top area to counterbalance, the crop you presented would be OK, although I'd like to see more of the reflection, to give it room to "end" before the bottom of the frame. With the lack of any interest in the BG above the bird, I'd crop halfway to the top of the bird's head.
Thanks for all the comments, especially around the crop. I guess it's always subjective as to what is correct but I do agree that there was a tad to much room at the top. I've altered the crop a bit and run a linear burn layer mask on the beak to extract a bit more detail but I didn't want to go over board. Although the beak was bright it wasn't blown at all so just on the bright side. Hope the repost is an improvement.
Low level Coot
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