by Dennis Plank
From Paradise Pond in Port Aransas, Texas. A tiny little pond reached by a path along dwellings and a parking lot behind a restaurant. Not a promising start, but it appeared that the pond was paradis for this species. there was an adult and a juvenile there when I arrived and a docent told me there had been four earlier. It's also apparenty popular with Great Kiskadees, though I missed them at this location.
7Dii, 500mm f4 ISL (Not sure why I didn't have the teleconverter. I think I'd taken it off for a close subject and just left it in the truck.) Jobu gimbal on RRS legs, f/8.0, 1/320, iso 500, aperture priority, center wieghted average metering, no compensation. Processed in LR5 and CS6. Cropped to 10.4 MP of the original 20. Taken at 10:26 am on February 22nd.
Your comments are always appreciated.
Thanks,
Comments
7 commentslike the anticipated action -- habitate shows where he lives and doesn't get in the way --
Dennis, that red eye is a real attention getter. I like the pose and the habitat. I was thinking that a bit tighter crop (from the bottom and left) might work also, but given the already big crop, that idea seems less useful.
Great habitat image showing how these birds skulk in the wetlands. I'd look at punching up the contrast a little and warming the imagea touch. Looks a bit flat overall
Here's a repost with a bit more contrast and saturation.
Like the leg up classic pose and that red eye.. Sure compliments the habitat with those red berries nicely Dennis.
Large view looks excellent
You managed to capture the essence of this hunter - exactly the pose I would think of when thinking of this species ! The lifted foot is a nice bonus ! Cheers, Hans
Dennis, my first thought pretty much echo'd Lukes suggesiton and I really like the repost a lot better. I like the raised leg and I like the comp you posted becasue I like the surrounding environment in this one.