Black Skimmer

[Dorian Anderson]

This image is from a few months ago. I never posted it because I feel its missing something, but I'm not sure what that something is. It's certainly not the lighting! Curious what others think......

Canon 600mm f/4 IS II on EOS 1DX2
1/4000 at f/5.6, ISO 1000
Processed in LR CC. A few local exposure adjustments

[kevin Hice]

Nice image Dorian,I would be happy with it. I only shot a few frames in Florida once and none were sharp. That lighting may be a little strong. I have some waders that have that strong yellow cast. I never processed them because they just didn't look right.TFS

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Beautiful light, IQ and eye contact. If you twisted my arm about what it's missing, I'd say it's like a nice dish that could've use some seasoning/condiment, like skimming action or a more interesting background. Wings fully raised might've helped some too. I haven't fully made up my mind on the reflection yet, but I suspect it's a net positive.
Solid basic flight shot overall.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Dorian, I like the image. I think it is just a little flat. Certainly sharp, lovely wing position and nice water background. I tried to see what I could do. In Lightroom, Exposure +0.09, Contrast +7, Highlights -69,
Shadows +14, Whites +26, Blacks -23, Vibrance +15, Saturation +4. WDYT?

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Dorian ... I would take it as posted in the OP .
For sure there is some tonal and color room to play with ... but does it help the image ??? Not sure , but worth playing as always .
I do like the classical skimmer pose .... nice one .

Well the RP created by Joseph , contains a lot of sliders moved around .... .... not most elegant way to deal with tone and color , but hey we all work differently .

TFS Andreas

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Nice wing position and Head angle.

Everything looks good in my opinion.

I would try removing the Yellow Reflection to see how it looks.

TFS

[Kurt Bowman]

I like the original post myself. The yellow cast doesn't bother me because it shows the beautiful light you had. I like the frame.

[Volkan Akgul]

Hi Dorian,

Congratulations. light and colors are good for me. I felt the atmosphere. the technique is already good.

[Brian Sump]

Dorian, light, exp, comp and detail all look nice in the op to me.

Nice in flight shot on the Skimmer in pretty light... on blue... yeah that works!

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the OP. The yellow is fine and I would not remove it as it is obviously from warm early (or late) light. Missing anything? Maybe a fish!

[John Mack]

Now that is some light. I like the framing and pose. Nice to see the bird right above the water.

[Dorian Anderson]

Nice wing position and Head angle.

Everything looks good in my opinion.

I would try removing the Yellow Reflection to see how it looks.

TFS

It's been a few days, but I revisited the image and cloned out the reflection as you suggested. I think it looks a bit better without it. Thanks for the idea.