In some light these black birds don't look so black- a juvenile so has the tinge of brown.
1DXIII 600 f4III 2x III 1200mm HH
1/1250 f8 iso5000 (auto) +1.3ev i.e. a very dull day!
A difficult crop to include the tail so I settled for a pano crop.
Near FF on the long side.
Pxiel peeplng shows a bit of noise but left it alone.
The bird had just popped up so wet feathers.
Last edited by Colin Driscoll; 07-10-2020 at 11:07 PM.
I am not a lover of high key images and at first glance, I didn't like this image but I have looked at it a couple of times now and have changed my mind! ( a woman is allowed to do that!)
The hint of tail feathers just below the water surface is very nice.
Pano crop was the only way to go.
I know the bird is moving away from you slightly and that the horizon line is correct but I would still rotate this clockwise slightly.
I wish the green water color was not there and I think I would deal with this by converting to a black and white.
I would also increase contrast on the bird.
The reflection is a bit odd and I could see a version with most of it cloned out.
Interesting image,
Gail
Unlike Gail, I generally like high key images. (I often put a 1px border around them.) The head and neck look sharp; at f/8 I'm surprised the back doesn't look quite as sharp. The green reflection is a little distracting, but I've seen this happen depending on the light and water, and it is what it is. You could locally desaturate that area if so inclined. Yes to a bit more contrast.