Tricolored Heron

Hi Jerry, I like the almost pastel colour of the BKD as it works well against the darker, somber colours of the subject. I might be tempted to give it a slight CW rotation, although 2.2 is spot on I might just work around 1.8, just a thought?

I think you may have an uncheck box for your colour profile (sRGB) as it shows untagged too????

TFS
Steve

Good thought, Steve. I never considered rotation since I thought the ripples were just ripples and not an indication of level. They may be, but the rotation will probably let the frame flow better.

I'll also check the profile. Thanks.

I like the colors here Jerry, it's a solid shot of a Tricolored but as far as a bird landscape type shot I think it would have worked better if you had shot it as a vertical - if it was possible to get the full reflection of the bird.

Nice bird for this type of shot. I agree with Nate that a vertical may have worked well also. I'm not getting a larger version to show up. Sharon

You are welcome Jerry, any queries on the settings let me know.

Cheers
Steve

Very nice as shown, the larger version is not any larger then this one. Were it mine I think I would try the already suggested vertical or cropped a bit off the left side and top, not eliminating any of the reflection. Still very nice as taken.

Nice work, Jerry. I think you have a good handle on the avian/landscape concept (at least for Ft Desoto). Agree that it needs some rotation, also a complete reflection would be more effective I think - Nate's suggestion for a vertical would help in that respect.

Hi Jerry.

I'm a stickler for level. (I always have a bubble level on my camera.) In this case, the wavelets are not an indicator of level. Their not being parallel to the edge of the frame simply means that you weren't perpendicular to them. If the bird had been moving, creating ripples, the axis of the ellipse of the ripples is a good indicator of level. Also the reflection can be an indicator of level. Assuming your lens was approximately level, a point on the reflection should be vertically aligned with the corresponding point on the bird's body. With a long lens, even if the lens is slightly tilted downwards, the angle is small, and the reflection test, especially near the center of the image, works well. In this case, the reflection is a little too diffuse to pick a precise point, and you cropped the head in the reflection so we can't see the eye or bill. I'll be the contrarian here and say that this image doesn't look unlevel to me.

Regarding reflections: for me, the reflection should be all or nothing. If the reflection is good enough to include, all of it should be included. Even if the reflection is incomplete, I think it's a good practice to include space in the frame for it. If the reflection isn't good enough to include, or if you cant get all of it, then less than half the reflection should be shown. This, of course, is not a hard and fast rule - just a rule of thumb peculiar to me. You should follow your own sense of aesthetics.

Great feedback everyone, thank you. I think I miss some of the finer considerations in some situations. Probably concerned with getting a well exposed and in focus photo and not noticing a lot of other things. I'll look though the files from that trip and see if I have something that is a little more inclusive of reflections that still has a pleasant mood.

Thanks again. I appreciate the constructive critiques and your time.