Australasian Grebe

[Leo Berzins]

Canon 40D, 400mm f/5.6L @ f/8, 1/1250s, ISO 400, handheld while lying flat

A small strip cropped from the bottom of the frame and a corresponding strip added to the top. A few specks on the water surface cloned out.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the eye on this guy!! Specs look good. I would add some canvas both at bottom and top, as the comp feels quite cramped especially with the reflection almost touching the edge.

[Ramon M. Casares]

I agree with Daniel´s comment, great sepcies and light, exposure, detail, color and BG are superb. Congratulations!

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great details, eye contact and reflection. I agree regarding more room top and bottom. I think it needs some CW rotation. Keep them coming!

[Rene Quenneville]

The water drops add a lot to this beautiful image. Great capture!

[Juan Aragonés]

I also agree with Daniel. The water drops and the eye are superb!

[Arthur Morris]

Quite lovely. The eyes, head, and face are amazing. I agree with Daniel and the rest; the crop from the bottom was a mistake as it leaves the reflection pretty much touching the frame edge... Sharp with a perfect head angle. I like the drop on its chin and its reflection. Way to go. Let's see a wider repost.

And thanks a ton Leo for your membership support.

[Leo Berzins]

... And thanks a ton Leo for your membership support.

Not at all. Thankyou Artie (and the rest of the team) for providing such a valuable resource and taking the time to educate beginners like me.

Thanks everyone, for all the comments and suggestions. Here is the original image (sharpened and resized for posting but otherwise unprocessed). I will follow it up with my second attempt at a processed image.

[Leo Berzins]

This version has been rotated CW ~1.5 deg (thanks Axel, you don't miss much, do you) and then canvas added above, below and left, followed by the same routine processing as the original post.

[Arthur Morris]

Much, much better. I would crop about half off the water at the bottom. Almost always better to have a bit more room above than below. Good job eliminating the extra head REFL.