Mrs. RWBB

[Gary Esman]

Hello This shot was taken this morning at a local fish hatchery. A lot of cattails, a lot of water and a lot of RWBB's. Not 100% sure on the comp for this. I never place the bird in the center, but this time I though it may work due to the cattail on the right balancing the shot. Am I correct? 7D, f/5.6, 1/2000, 700mm, iso00, tripod, cropped from horizontal Comments appreciated. Gary.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice shot, showing the environment.

[Randy Stout]

Gary:

I think the positioning of the bird in the frame works, the balance of the masses between the bird and his perch, and the other cat tail works.

I might consider toning down the brightest areas of reeds at the bottom.

Like the prey item and head up pose. Nice exposure.

Even though the head is angled up, I would consider a small crop down from the top.

Cheers

Randy

[Daniel Cadieux]

We don't often see RWBs with such large prey, I like it! The comp is OK, but the biggest issue is the background...specifically the LRC. If this is a favorite perch of her's you could move right to see what type of BG you get. Of course you may lose the extra cattail by doing this, but I think the trade-off of losing the white stuff below would be greater.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gary, she looks proud posing with her catch, and I too feel your comp works fine. Good DOF and sharp on the RWBB, and nicely separated from the BG too. Most of your BG is really nice, and have to ageee to tone down the LRC, and Randy's suggestion to take a touch off the top.

[Gary Esman]

Thanks for the critiques gentleman, here is the applied suggestions.

Gary.