new stuff Yellow-Crowned Night Heron

I like this one. It's nice a crisp, and good contrasting lighting between the bird and the water. The position of the bird in the frame isn't quite to my taste... I think I'd be inclined to crop out about half the distances at the bottom and left, and maybe a bit off the right to make a tighter crop overall, and to put the bird's head at the upper right thirds intersection. I think this might be more powerful that way, but you know what they say about opinions ;)

Well, first of all, mea culpa for not having sized the image appropriately--I hate having to scroll to see all of a photo and don't want to inflict that on anyone else. I think you were right to question the crop. I've made some adjustments--not exactly as you prescribed because I didn't want to lose the leaf at the bottom but closer to your suggestion.

Not a prescription, you know, just a suggestion. It's funny I entirely overlooked the sizing, but that might also be relative, depending on screen size and resolution. I like the new crop. It seems to me the heron stands out better.

 

Dave;

I was taking a leisurely browse through your photos when I spot the thumbnail for this bird. On a recent trip to Utila  I came across one of these characters wading on the shoreline while I was out taking an early morning stroll. I did not know the ID and had never seen this bird before that morning.  Thanks to you I now know its name. A nice clean shot.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Gord!  I discovered a nesting colony (12 nests!) in the sycamores along a nearby stream three years ago and it seems to be perennial (smaller numbers this year, though.)   Here's one from a couple of weeks ago.

http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/Nature/Fauna/IMGP6991cas1200/833428147_7wSYF-L.jpg

 

As a matter of fact, I checked in on them this afternoon but not with a serious bird lens.  There's one in this photo, camouflaged in the rocks on the left ;~)

http://dadipentak.smugmug.com/photos/847745860_X3tZm-L.jpg