Snowy Egret

[Matthew Latini]

Taken at Bolsa Chica Wetlands on Saturday 2-5-2011. I got this shot as the wind was blowing from the right side, which is how I got the plumage as it is.
Canon EOS 550D, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L @ 200mm. Manual Exp, 1/3200, F4, ISO 400, 0EV.
PP in lightroom, Noise reduction on the background only in Photoshop and noiseware. Cropped for composition.
I was having a lot of trouble trying to determine the proper exposure. If I take the highlights right below clipping, a lot of the feather detail gets lost. If I reduce the exposure the feather detail becomes more apparent, but I lost the soft white appearance. I think I got a reasonable balance.
Thanks for looking.

[Ian Cassell]

Matthew, I also think you got the right balance. It's tough with an all-white bird and you did a good job with it. If I had one suggestion, it would be to try and lighten up the eye a bit. I think this works well in the square crop.

[Matthew Latini]

I used a curves technique the Julie Kenwood recommended in one of my previous posting to lighten up the eye a bit. Does it seem to be enough or could it be a little lighter?

[Sid Garige]

Matthew,

Your exposure and post processing look great. Very ncie details and pose.

Considering the subject orientation, I would go for a vertical crop with little more space at the bottom. Very nice job.

[pat lillich]

Matthew -love the way the unusual light highlights those feathers and I like the repost with the lightened eye. you got really nice detail in that all white bird. Did you have more of the foot in this or another shot? I'd be tempted to add it on if you did and go for Sid's vertical crop.

[Chris Korman]

I think this a great image, I only wish the toe weren't clipped.

[Matthew Latini]

Thanks for all the positive comments and the suggestions.
I did consider more of a vertical crop but I am a bit limited by the subject's location. The bird is sitting on the top of a fence and the area below the foot is chain link, which is the reason for the tight crop on the bottom. Any lower the chain link will be visible.
I can rotate the entire image to the right, which would allow me to crop a little lower and expose the rest of the foot. If I do that, the subject will be tilted though, and it will still be a tight crop.
I can crop it a bit more on the left, which would let me pull the bottom down more, but I like the extra room in front of the subject, as I have it now.
I think I might have the best composition I"m going to get, based on the original image, but I"m open to suggestions...