Tricolored Heron

Hilke,

I think if you had been on the sunny side of the bird this image would have been wonderful because of the pose, the setting and the light that would have been on the heron.

On this side though I probably would have used f8 to gain shutter speed and would have used some positive EV compensation. The IQ has suffered some from the large crop as it appears soft and the tricolored has little detail in the feathers.

I think the large crop hurts this image, and the low SS and small apeature make it even softer. I'm surprised at the low SS as the light looks good here. I do like the pose with the raised leg and enviroment.

I like the colours of the bird against the water, the pose and the intent look on the bird's face.

I think you could lessen the effects of the crop by cropping less (well duh!). As long as there isn't anything distracting in the background, you can make the bird smaller in the frame and place it in an interesting way, e.g. in a corner. You can also use the bird's reflection as frame-filler (but do leave enough space above the bird too).

PS. First I read "Macro Island, Florida". Lots of bugs there no doubt...

Thanks for all your comments. I'll keep learning ....