White-necked Heron

This is the breeding plumage of this Australian species. The body is greyer in non-breeding plumage and the spots in the neck tend to wear away.

7D, 300mm f4 ISL + 1.4TC, handheld, f6.3, 1/2000, Av mode with -1/3 stop compensation (I still had to bring down the whites a bit in ACR), iso500. Processed in ACR and CS6. I added canvas to the bottom and right to loosen up the composition a bit.

Taken from a dike that goes out into Lake Mitchell (a bit north of Mareeba, QLD) at 2:37 pm on October 23rd. This is a great spot for water birds.

Your comments and criticisms are very much appreciated.

Thanks for looking,