After spending the first few hours after dawn at Anhinga trail on a beautiful but quiet morning (water level was high), I went for my usual drive in my covertible down the main road in ENP with my trusty rig riding shotgun. I spotted this young beauty in a dwarf cypress right at the edge of the swale. I stopped the car on the other side of the two lane road and began my work with car as a blind. Then I decided to be greedy and try to get closer on foot. This beauty let me within15ft (I couldn't believe it!). In fact I went back to the car and he was still there eyeing me inquisitively. It was 9:00am with the last of the good morning light. What an ending to a beautiful morning!
1DMKIIN 400DO 1.4xtc ISO 400 f8@1/1600
Lucky you, I wish the raptors were as cooperative around here. I like the eye contact and would crop a bit off the right and add some room at the left. You could try to lighten the shadow above the eye. A lower angle would have been nice, just a few steps backward can make quite a difference.
Even though it was just at the end of good light, that shadow from the jutting brow is hard from a cloudless south florida morning. Lightening it does not bring back detail. He was only about 10ft up in the tree (tells you how close I was); thus the up angle. I don't mind it on raptors as it seems to further emphasize there majesty. I had no more on the left, so I simply cropped from the right. Thanks as always for the learnings.
What an ending....
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