mating yellow crown night herons helpful critiques welcomed

[John Hawkins]

I was back at Ding Darling and tried again. Is this better?
Taken with Sony Alpha 100 with Sigma 500 mm zoom 1/80 exposure f6.3 aperture matrix metering. All helpful critiques welcomed. Thanks, John

[Alfred Forns]

Hi John !!! First thing that jumps at me are the feet!!! We need those in the frame !!!!!!!

From a tech point you need to increase the shutter speed The 1/80th is causing some shake and keeping the image from being as sharp as it could be.

I do like the stick interchange and raised feathers a lot. Good expression on both birds. The far left oof branches are distracting but you did manage to get a clean an area as possible. Exposure is good and I like the rest of the framing. Should have those birds around for a while. I'm sure you will have fun with them !!! Looking forward to the next one !!!

[Steve Maxson]

A nice behavior image, John. I like the way the plumes are extended on the front bird and the way the rear bird is staring at the stick. I wish that you could have fit their feet into the frame. Neither bird is in focus, but some of the foliage around the birds seems to be sharp. I'm guessing that the birds were moving and the 1/80 shutter speed was not fast enough to freeze the motion. Also, at f/6.3 your DOF would not have been enough to have both birds in sharp focus the way they are positioned. A move to the right , if possible, would have helped with the DOF. Keep them coming.

[Robert O'Toole]

Agree with Alfred, the feathers are great and the interaction is very cool, but I also agree with the problem points made. I like the nice soft light, with more shutter speed and more of the feet, the image could be great.

Robert

[Randy Stout]

John;

Very beautiful colors, and I really like the plumes. Since you need faster shutter speed, and a smaller aperture for depth of field, your only option is to crank up the ISO. I don't know this camera, but a bit of noise would be preferable to the slightly blurry image. Do you know what ISO you were shooting at?

Randy

[John Hawkins]

Thanks for all the comments. They were deep in the mangroves and they had the area roped off so i couldn't get closer. The feet were in the nest. I seem to have trouble getting the settings right. I will try these suggestions next time. I am fortunate that I live nearby.Thanks,
John

[Gus Cobos]

Hi John,
Your subjects are framed properly. The background is a bit too busy for my taste. Also need to tone down your green hues. Most important of all...:eek: DOUBLE OUCH...:eek::eek:
You cut both feet...:eek:

[Linda Robbins]

Great nesting behavior captured and the back plumes and stick passing are the icing on the cake. Good head angles on both birds. When your subjects are moving, keep an eye on your shutter speed and don't be afraid to turn your ISO way up. A little more noise is more acceptable than a soft image. You would have needed perhaps 1/500 to get the movement sharp in this case. It's great that you live nearby.....hope you will post more images of these beauties.