Yesterday was my first time out to Wako in awhile and things were jumping. The morning was nice with a blue flying to the southwest island with branches and the late afternoon was great at the southeast island. When the egrets would face off, the west wind would hold them up nicely and I've got about 20 shots like this one.
Beautiful shot. Great exposure, especially the whites. I like the composition, but find the foliage at the bottom distracting (my eye won't stop wandering to it). Sharpness is very good and I really like the action. The green color in front of the eyes is amazing. Great nature story!
Good timing, nice interaction.
I could certainly see this as a horizontal, with more space on each side, and cropped up from the bottom (as mentioned above). There is such a strong center of attraction between the two birds, that the environmental inclusion is less critical in my opinion. I cropped it to try and work the diagonals in the frame. It is a bit square, which some don't like. I also lightened the shadows under the wings a touch.
Hopefully will get some additional thoughts on this!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Randy
Last edited by Randy Stout; 02-08-2010 at 08:21 AM.
Hi Matt, Great to see you and I love the action you captured here, Sure wish I could have stayed longer :( I like Randy's repost but like the idea of the vertical crop. Great timing and thanks for sharing.
I was thee that day too. I think it is a courtship dance. we should have had clouds, most of mine are impaired because of the shadows. I like Randy's crop but the lifting of the shadows brought out a pinkish hue and some halos. I tired lifting my shadows too and was not happy.
Do I love cloudy!!!!
Thanks for the comments and help with the image! I was a bit torn about leaving the foliage also and the re-work looks great. It was great seeing you too Judy and I am looking forward to meeting more at Wako!
Nice interaction captured. A bit soft to my eyes though. Another vote for a vertical - actually would like to see some more room at the bottom if you have it.