Snowy Egret

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image at Circle B Bar Reserve in mid December. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm (600mmFFE)
1/1600 F/5.6 Matrix Metering + 1 EV ISO 1000
Post processed in Lightroom 5 and Photoshop Elements 10
Cropped for composition, blending on the background to smooth out the color transitions

[gail bisson]

Happy New Year Joe,
I like the exposure on the whites, the soft diffuse light and the pensive HA of the egret.
BG is nice with the "fluffy" grey/white water.
IQ is good as well.
I am not loving the composition you chose. It feels a bit awkward to me. I would crop in tighter from the bottom to above the top of legs and make it a tight panorama.
Nice shot to start the New Year with,
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hi Gail, thanks for looking and suggesting a different crop. I like the new version a lot. As Artie would say... it rocks! A happy and prosperous New Year to you and all.

[adrian dancy]

I like the repost more. All else looks good.

[Diane Miller]

I could go with either crop, as I like the detail in the breast feathers in the OP. And I like the "snowy" effect (really -- in Florida??) But in a way I wonder if more detail could be extracted from the lightest tones.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I miss these Florida birds. Good job overall, with both crops working OK for me (with an edge to the RP). The top-most feathers are pretty hot and could be toned down. I also see a bit of a whitish haze at the very tip of the bill that could be darkened via the burn tool. I love the eye.