This image of a glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) coming in to land was taken at a wetland close to the OR Tambo international airport.
I thought that I should leave the reeds from a nest BR in the frame. Please comment?
Camera: Canon 1D mk3
Lens: Canon 500 f4 + 1.4 TC
Evalutive metering
Exp comp +0.67 (for detail in dark feathers)
App: f5.6
SS: 1/1000 (could have been a bit faster?)
ISO: 400
Firstly, let me say it is strikingly beautiful image. I agree with keeping the reeds in the BR. I think a little bit of crop on the L would give it better balance. I like the blur in the wingtips, so - for me - a faster shutter would have made a different but not necessarily better photo. I'm relatively new to this, so I'll leave the question about exposure for (rather than PP for) the shadows to someone with more knowledge. It's an issue that has bedeviled me.
Sweet pose and wonderful plumage colors with an awesome complimentary background! The shutter speed looks good to me - I like a little motion blur on the wingtips because I feel it gives the image a bit of life.
As for the reeds, they are slightly distracting & I might consider cloning them out.
The only other distractions are the dark shadows. I'm still getting a handle on photography basics, so I'm not quite sure what you could have done to lighten them up (perhaps a fill flash?)
Also, a little more space at top would be nice and I would definitely sharpen the bird with USM a bit, too.
I have no problems with the SS and the wing tip blur. I like the reeds on the lower right corner and the fantastic BG. Composition works for me. The light is a bit harsh and produced very deep shadows that you can try to fix using levels or shadows/highlight filter. :-)
I feel you have the exposure spot on here Dave, and showing great detail and colours too. The comp works for the placement of the Ibis, but I would remove the reeds. I also think some selective sharpening on the head and neck would improve this.
My vote is to keep the reeds and remove all of the darkness and other distractions along the bottom to the left of the reeds. There appears to be a little piece of a reed a bit in from the left side along the bottom.