Great Blue Heron in flight.

[Ronald Zigler]

All comments and suggestions are appreciated. I was able to take a good number of shots of the Great Blue Heron taking off. I am trying to select an image that represents the best compromise between pose, sharpness, and less distractions in the background (and I tried not to over-sharpen).
60D, 300mm f4 + 1.4x, 1/2000, f8, ISO 1000, HH.

[Ian Cassell]

Hi Ron. I think you achieved most of what you were after. I would be tempted to crop a bit off the bottom of the image and, IMO, it could use some more selective sharpening. f/8 may have given you a bit too much DOF - I think it would be stronger if the BG was blurred a bit more (maybe you can do this in PP, but I'm not good at things like that). You did a good job avoiding having your subject bisected by the shoreline (a problem I am constantly wrestling with).

[Kerry Perkins]

Ron, nice job with the flight capture! This is a big bird and often difficult to capture in a nice scene like this, could use a little more space. I like the exposure and color balance. The water droplets are a plus and add to the sense of action. Could be a tad sharper and the wing position a little higher (or a lot lower) but a good catch all things considered.

[Ronald Zigler]

Thanks Kerry. I am still trying to decide which of several images is the best. The image I have posted above is one of several that I got off as the bird took off, but each image has its own strengths and weaknesses (image sharpness, wing position, etc.). I am tempted to post another one or two to get some more opinions. I could give this bird a bit more space if necessary. Where would you add space in this image?

[Kerry Perkins]

Ron, I think more room on the left would be good. Feel free to post other versions and we can post our thoughts.