Feeding Snowy Egret

[WIlliam Maroldo]

SonyA700~Sony70-400G@400mm~ISO800~F7.1~1/1000sec~manual exposure~11-4-2009~Brays Bayou, Houston, Texas~CS4/Topaz Simplify2)/Topaz Clean2
Taken today at dusk. Snowy egrets occasional feed by dragging their feet in the water while in flight, no doubt to stir up a meal. Here you can see the disturbance in the water, and the little fish in the beak.
Topaz simplify2, then Clean 2. I might add, I missed a few small halos around the bird. Oh well. regards~Bill

[Patti Edens]

I didn't know they did that! Great info. I need to head out to Braes Bayou and find some of your trained Egrets. :D

I really love the placement of the bird with the distrubance dragging out behind him and I also like the bright reflection in the water.

[Harshad Barve]

lovely image and nice treatment
TFS

[denise ippolito]

Bill, I think the simplify really added to this image. I love the lighting and the comp. I would tone down the one bright spot in BG at the top right and maybe reveal a bit more detail in the eye. The water drops and the water color are awesome. Nice work!

[Christopher Miller]

Hi Bill, Like the composition, lighting, and pose. The water drops add a lot to the image. I only wish that golden light was falling on the egret too. Well done!

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions! This time I agree with Denise, about toning down the bright spot in the BG and the eye detail. I disagree with Christopher about light falling on the egret. Why? In my opinion the focal point of the image is the bright disturbance in the water, and the bird fulfills a supporting role. Therefore, making the bird more prominent would detract from the focal point. Indeed Denises suggestion about reducing the bright area also helps with increaing focal point prominence. At least thats my $.02! regards~Bill

[Christopher Miller]

That makes sense, Bill. TFS