Black-crowned Night Heron

[Jim Crosswell]

This image was taken at the mouth of the Thames River at Lighthouse Cove, Ontario. It was taken from a boat and was handheld. This is the cleanest BG I could achieve. I think it shows the habitat well. All C&Cs appreciated and welcome.

Canon 40D
EF 500L
ISO 400
f/6.3
1/200s

[Doug Brown]

Hey Jim. That bulging red eye looks great! Good sharpness and nice light. I like the inclusion of habitat too. If a lower shooting angle was possible I would have gone slightly lower to get the bird and perch against an all green BG. Also, please take advantage of our 1024 pixel horizontal limit; it showcases your images better, and makes critiquing a little easier.

[Randy Stout]

Jim:

Doug hit the important points. Sharpness handheld in a boat is very good!
I like the one claw which is on top of the branch stub.
Nice light and eye.

Cheers

Randy

[Jim Crosswell]

Thanks for the comments Doug and Randy. A lower angle was not possible. I will post closer to the file size limit next time.

[Randy Stout]

Jim:

I think if you had jumped out of the boat, you could have gotten a bit lower:D
I struggle with that issue with my loons at times. Somehow I can't quite get myself to jump into the water with my gear! Wading is another matter when possible, but the loons are often in pretty deep water!

Randy