Night Heron at Sunrise

What grabs me first with this image is the lighting. It is that beautiful warm morning light. The bird is sharp and has great detail. Did you consider a vertical composition? Vertical or not still a stunning image.

Nicely done and from a moving boat no less. Lighting, pose, composition, and environmental background all are pluses. Only nit is that there appears to be something (not sure to call it a halo) along the back of the bird and the back of the neck. Should be an easy fix. Thanks for sharing.

Peter

Very nice!! I can't believe you captured such a sharp image from a moving boat, hand-held, and 1/800. I tried that with my 500 this past weekend and ended up with a strained back. Still nursing it along. Lovely lighting and nice composition. How fast was that boat going

Nice colors and setting. I don't see much detail especially in the brightest feathers.

love the warmth of this composition. You did very well to get this sharp an image from a moving boat. Nicely done

Dottie - taken from a pontoon boat, at maybe 2-3 knots, (slow) but wake and people's movement bounce the boat around. I'll be happy to share the hand-holding techniques I learned in Jim Neiger's excellent "Flight School" workshop, when I see you in 10 days at NANPA. Can't wait!
In the meantime, get a 10# hand-weight and start lifting to strengthen your arms - seriously.
The 500 mm and larger lenses on a good camera are a bitc** to lift and hold steady.
Sandy

Sandy, I like the comp and the bird is sharp. On my calibrated monitor the whites and other light colors on the bird are too bright. No detail is discernible in those feathers. I would bring those areas down if this were mine.

Great shot from a moving boat. Love the Heron's eye and the lighting in this photograph.

Ron Huff

Very good capture from a moving boat; never easy with a 500mm lens. I can't tell if the whites are blown, but they are very high and it has cost you considerable detail. I'd fiddle with the Highlights slider and see if that can get you lost detail; if not, assuming you shoot in RAW, I'd reprocess the original to try and extract more detail.

Love the setting Sandy but the brightness of the whites and lack of detail there really catches my eye.

Sandy,

I love the heron's pose and the setting but I might be tempted to bring the exposure down slightly to see if more detail can be found in the heron's plumage. I know the chest feathers are very fine but I do think a little more detail could be possible there. Nice work handholding that big lense on a moving boat.

Hi Sandy A fine capture, considering you were in a moving boat Beautiful light on this bird, To make this perfect, i would slighty tone down the whites .
Albert Darmo Canada