The golden hour - Cormorant at sunset

[Brian Grant]

Nikon d300, 70-200mm f2.8 VR-1 f11 1/1000
Dead lakes, Punta Gorda FL

[Geoff Warnock]

excellent image Brian.

My own taste would be to crop off approx the top third, as the empty space takes my attention away from the cormorant. An alternative for me could be a narrower more vertical crop. On the bird itself Im a bit undecided on the bright spots, but that's nit picking.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I too would crop a godd amount from the top...perhaps even close to half the spce up there. I actually don't mind the cormaorant running away (and the splashing helps with that), but I would prefer the bright spots on it not be there. What caused the bright streaks in the water?

[Brian Grant]

This was taken at what we call the dead lakes. They are some canals for a condo complex which never got permission to connect to the open harbor. They make a nice set of lakes for the condo though. One side of them is undeveloped and it's a good spot for the birds that hang out there. The streaks are reflections of some of the gaps between the condos. They are really only apparent at dusk and dawn.

I tried a more sever crop to make a banner for my blog at http://birdsnbugs.wordpress.com but wasn't satisfied with it. I could clone out the high drops but, they are a part of the splash so, I left it there.

Here is a banner crop.
http://photocamel.com/gallery/data/1...852abanner.jpg

I too would crop a godd amount from the top...perhaps even close to half the spce up there. I actually don't mind the cormaorant running away (and the splashing helps with that), but I would prefer the bright spots on it not be there. What caused the bright streaks in the water?