You did really well here with the exposure, retaining detail in the blacks. The background and reflection are beautiful. I think you could make the image stronger by a crop that would allow a little more space on the bottom and the left side so the bird has space to "swim into". The head angle here may be a little questionable, do you think it is slightly angled away from you?
He's definitely angled away from us (and from the focal plane). It doesn't make the image "bad"; it just doesn't make it as strong as it could be. Imagine if he were swimming towards you OR if he were swimming away but he cocked his head around to look you straight in the face...that's why head angle matters! I've seen images where they are looking off into space in almost a contemplative manner and those work for me - but never as well as when they are making eye contact.
Joel's right - you've got some good blacks here. I also think you could use more room on the bottom and left side - it's a little too close to the bottom of the frame and having more room for him to "swim into" always helps.
Hi Gary - Nailed the exposure - nice detail n those blacks - good reflection worth the inclusion - water looks good, as mentioned just a tad tight front and bottom for my tastes also.
The HA thread certainly has a wealth of information - like any guideline/rule there are times when you may want to break it but best to understand the rule/guideline first.
A head turn towards you would have improved this - Nature photography is not that different to Portrait photography - Eye contact gives the viewer a connection to the image.
Keep em coming :)
Lovely image Gary, the repost is much nicer with the added canvas. The reflection is very nice here, especially around the head. If it's not too much of a crop it would be interesting to see how the image would go at trying a portrait style composition with the reflection of the head included.
Moorhen
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