Runway Model- Reddish Egret

[gail bisson]

Have been away from the boards for a while. Hope all is well with my BPN friends!
Canon 1DX 600mm and 1.4x
F7.1 SS 1/2500 ISO 800
Taken SW Florida November 2016 at 4:00PM ( 1 1/2 hours before sunset)
Cropped to vertical-just managed to get him within the frame as he/she was so close!
PP: Cropped, usual LR sliders, NR to BG. levels, DE at 1% to reddish egret only, USM to JPEG. Nothing added or cloned.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Hi Gail. Glad to see you back. These birds can certainly offer some crazy poses, and this is one. In addition: very nice low POV, lovely background, your usual fine techs. I can't decide whether to like or dislike the bill merging with its shadow; but it does show that you had the sun at your back.

[Jonathan Ashton]

That is just beautiful, love the pose and the background. The feather detail is super, I suppose you could lift the shadow on the neck a little but I do not find it bothersome myself.

[stuart wanuck]

mean looking bird but nice capture

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image. Love his hair style, nice pose, superb details.beautiful colors, BG and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk

[David Salem]

Nice to see you back Gail!
These guys sure do come up with some crazy looking poses, and this is one of them. On my only trip to Florida a few years ago we were able to get in the water with one of these beauties and follow him around as he did lots of funny maneuvers as he hunted. Pretty fun!
I like the split BG as it highlights him well and the blue water at the bottom adds a nice color transition.
I took the liberty to remove the shadow from the beak and I also bumbed up the blacks, and lights a little, in levels. I didn't change the saturation at all. You will have better luck with the RAW file, but just throwing it out there.
Great job and looking forward to more.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely image as always, Gail. I like the spiked feathers and the bird's expression. Thank you for sharing.

[keith mitchell]

Gail do like the punk'y look on this bird and all blends well with that bg,think perhaps it's a good thing to remove that shadow,beautiful job and it's nice to see you back.

Keith.

[Ryan von Linden]

Love the pose and I could go either way on the shadow. I do find the original a bit flat and for my own taste would punch it up a bit, more in line with David's edit.

[gail bisson]

Thanks everyone. Here is a repost with a stronger levels adjustment ( Thanks Dave) and I lightened the shadow but decided not to eliminate it.
Gail

[Mike Poole]

Great to see you posting again Gail, and a classic Florida subject to boot! I had a great time with these last time out at Ft Desoto.

Low angle works as well as ever, and the punk look is priceless. Regarding the shadow, I think both your RP and Daves version work well, it's down to personal choice I guess.

Mike

[Lorant Voros]

Love this bird and I love your low angle view on it, the warm lights and the characteristic expression and pose of the bird. Last re-post is my favorite. TFS.

[Jim Crosswell]

These birds are a treat to watch and you captured this one in an interesting pose. I like the eye contact, IQ, sweet BG, sharpness and composition. Excellent image Gail!

[annmpacheco]

Love the pose and the do, my favorite bird. I prefer the repost and really like the colors throughout, glad to have you back.

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent pose and light, good exposure control, nice comp and good ambient.