Reddish Egret

[Joseph Przybyla]

I had been reading reports on Ebird that birders were seeing Reddish Egrets along Black Point Wildlife Drive in Merritt Island NWR. So Tuesday morning Dottie and I got up early and made the two hour drive to arrive early. This is one of the images I captured that morning. 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 (600mm FFE)
1/1250 F/7.1 Matrix Metering +1/3 EV ISO 900 AWB, camera supported by a monopod
Post processed in Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC
Cropped for composition and presentation, added canvas on the top and right side

[Michael Thompson]

Nice find and good action capture, love that you froze that foot and the water drops, good head position. I would bring up the color a bit, it looks desaturated. ~ MT

[gail bisson]

Nice IQ and good foot position.
The image needs to be warmed up a bit IMHO. Nice morning light.
I also like the incoming position of the egret.
I find the horizontal wake behind the bird a bit distracting- a lower POV could have eliminated that but may not have been possible.
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Michael and Gail, thank you for viewing, commenting and suggesting improvements. I did a redo in Lightroom starting from the beginning. I think this repost reflects your suggestions. Thanks again for your interest.

[Diane Miller]

A great catch, and removing the wave was a nice touch, but for me this version is too contrasty and saturated. I'd go halfway in between.

It feels like it needs some CCW rotation. It may have initially been lined up on a wave that was at an angle. The darkenss of the reflection pulls my eye down there. Is there any more of it in the original frame? If it could be lightened at the bottom (just the reflection, not the water) I would find it less in competition with the lovely bird.