Squacco Heron take off

[hennieloots]

Hi All. Another Squacco, this time on take off. Thanks for having a look.

Techs: Canon 1D-X | Canon EF600mm f4L IS II USM– 1/8000s @ F/7.1 & ISO: 1600 |EB: +1 EV| On Gimbal head on tripod from hide |
PP:
Crop – Crop 10% from bottom & RHS
LR – WB set with eyedropper from area on beak, , Adjustments to Blacks, Whites & Highlights slider, Sharpened, NR
PS6 – Canvas added to LHS, Midtone contrast with Luminosity mask to subject only, Dodge and Burn to improve details in feathers, Burned HL on lower branch in RHC, Dodge & Burn to the pupil and iris of eye, Curves, Selective color to subject only, Selective sharpening of subject only with USM x 1.

All comments and critique always welcome and appreciated!
Regards
Hennie

[Steve Canuel]

Hennie,
This is a very nice shot of what IMO is one of the nicer looking herons. What is all the red from?

[Marina Scarr]

Good job on getting the take off pose, although I wish the bird weren't facing away quite so much b/c the shadow hurts the image. The colors of the bird against that gorgeous BG are special. Whites look well exposed.

[hennieloots]

Thanks for the comments, Steve & Marina. The red is from a layer of algae present on the surface of the water.
Cheers
Hennie

[Richard Flack]

Nice shot Hennie, I know how hard these are to get. Well done

[Daniel Cadieux]

Pretty nice take off image with killer wing positions with lots of detail. Too bad the head was turned away though as it could have been better lit otherwise. I also think the extra branch at top does not add much to the image. Good BG and comp.

[Satish Ranadive]

Superb flight pose with very nice wing position. Beautiful colors, details, BG, and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[hennieloots]

Thanks everybody for having a look and the kind comments.
Cheers
Hennie