American coot in golden light

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

40D. 400f5.6L at f/7.1. iso400. 1/640. Evening light.

I toasted the whites on the bill in trying to get the black details. I should probably try some burning.

All C&C welcome.

[Mike Milicia]

Beautiful light and water, great pose and head angle, and nice comp!

Bill looks like it might be beyond recovery but it's worth a try.
Blacks also look a bit washed out, maybe more contrast or higher black point in Levels?

[Jim Fenton]

Agree with the self critique on the bill and it looks as though you could have gone with less exposure and done better with the black as well.

Really like the pose and the evening colors of the water.

It almost looks as though the feather detail could have taken a bit more sharpening and I would have cloned out the couple of blue orbs (reflections) above the birds back to the left.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the light, angle and eye contact. The recovery of the bill shows a little as it looks grayish now. Another vote for more sharpening.