Sun Worship

[Danny J Brown]

Taken late morning with the sun getting a little too high in the sky for pleasing photography, I caught this yellow-crowned night-heron spreading its wings toward said fireball. It had just finished eating a crayfish and decided to dry off for a while. My favorite thing about this photo is the "supermodel" leg position of the bird on the log. The photo was taken in Forest Park, St. Louis, MO.

Canon EOS 40D; Canon 300 F4 L IS; 1/800; F/6.3; EC 0; ISO 200; Manfrotto 055XB w/488RC2; Processed in Canon DPP and leveled in Lightroom II.

[Stu Bowie]

Danny, I like the regal pose, and good to see the curled wings. You described the legs perfectly. I would maybe sharpen the head a little more.

[Raul Quinones]

Love the pose and I think you did good considering the harsh light. If mine, I will de-sat slightly the green background.

[Mital Patel]

dany truly an awesome pose and moment you have grabbed. wish for better light angle but this is what you cant do anything with form the location.

here is what i've worked on ur file took some liberty without asking so please dont mind.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Doug, I love the pose. The wing spread is very appealing to me. Good head angle and I like the environment/habitat. I agree the green need to be toned down a little and you may want to try and burn/darken the sun lit feathers. I like Mital's repost and you may even try darkening the sun lit feathers a tiny bit more. Thanks for sharing

[Danny J Brown]

dany truly an awesome pose and moment you have grabbed. wish for better light angle but this is what you cant do anything with form the location.

here is what i've worked on ur file took some liberty without asking so please dont mind.

Thanks Mita - the background is looking better and a little sharper. As always, my files are your files.

[Malcolm Benn]

Great image and like you I like the stance it adds a bit of flare (if that's possible for a bird).

[Harshad Barve]

wonderful image Danny, love the wing pose and stance here
Mital's repost took thi fine shot over the top
TFS

[Gavin Spooner]

Danny:

lovely image with an interesting pose. As someone said I think the green background is great but is maybe too bright.

Cheers
Gavin

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks all. Your comments are much appreciated.

[arash_hazeghi]

It is indeed like prating or preaching! Wonderful pose,Mital's repost is a major improvement

[Betsie Storm]

Danny, Great pose, exp; prefer Mital's repost, love the details in the feathers.

[John Ippolito]

Outstanding pose, Danny. Mital's version improved an already nice image with a little more detail and pop.