Snowy Egret flying towards setting sun

[Kristofer Rowe]

I didn't have a bunch of light so this is shot at 1600 iso on my D90. Tamron 200-500 @ 500mm F6.3. 1/1000 sec. HH. My normal crappy PP in view nx2 taming highlights and WB. Sharpened.

I wish the bird had been facing me a little bit more, but this was the keeper of the bunch. Caught a nice catch light from the sun, and somehow managed not to murder the highlights. Should I have cropped it slightly tighter on the bottom? I liked the sense of feeling the water underneath. I tried to get the body on the 1/3 line but it leaves the head a little too centered.

[Doug West]

If you do crop it from the bottom, I suggest not too much...maybe just below the break on the
right hand side of the screen. I like the break here cause its not intersecting the Egret.

Doug

[Bob Miller]

Kris....i think you got a nice wing position in some good light......your sharpness looks good...and most importantly the highlights are not blown out.....I would not crop myself. This is good work! Hope to see more!

[Kristofer Rowe]

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement! I will leave this shot the way it is :)

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Kris,

Nice job controlling the whites, looks like a hot spot on the neck. The image is a bit soft which can be offset with some simple adjustments: faster shutter, tripod, enhanced panning technique to name a few. Too bad you could not catch a better head angle but you offer a unique perspective. The subject is a bit tight in the frame IMO and the dark line under the subject does pull on the eye. When I face situation like this I tend to either show more habitat, move subject to the corner and ensure adequate room to breath or focus on the bird and ensure the image is sharp with feather detail and a good head angle - thanks for sharing - keep em coming.

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Kristofer, the image needs more room on the top and less on the bottom. The eye is accustomed to seeing more space at the top than at the bottom, as a general rule. I feel that cropping from the bottom would only make the bird feel more cramped in the frame. Good job on the exposure and color. It is much better to capture the bird flying toward you rather than away from you.