GREAT EGRET IN FLIGHT AGAINST WATER REFLECTED 004

A beautiful shot, alike many others in the portfolio, bravo ..

All C&C and ratings are quite welcome. As a serious hobbyist trying to

improve, I appreciate any ideas on how this shot would be better. Will

try to return the favor. Thanks

Hi Dave- this is a very nice image. You managed to capture the egret and his reflection quite well. In terms of "even good can be better" there are several things you might consider: first, the reflection is almost running off the page. You could recompose, but because these type shots are generally "catch it now", a possible post capture solution is to crop the top part of the image thus placing both the egret and his reflection without the top blue. Of-course, this still places the reflection on the edge of the image (less than desirable), but without the large expanse of blue on the top, the effect is lessened somewhat. I hope that makes sense to you!

The second issue (I am picking at nits here) is the egret is a bit overexposed. This is a chronic problem when photographing white birds against a blue sky or blue water. You can try underexposing the egret by 1/3-1/2 stop or, again in post-capture, adjust the contrast and saturation of the egret using the sliders. The idea is to try showing a bit more detail in the feathers of the egret.

Please don't think your image is not good - it's quite good, but there is almost always some room for learning and improving.

John- thanks for your comment. It is always a pleasure to hear from you.

Irene - I deeply appreciate your feedback. It is what I am looking for from PN members - ways to improve. Few people are willing to give or accept constructive critique and I thank you very much for yours. Your suggestions are right on and I found them very helpful. Feel free anytime to provide any suggestions you may have on any of my photos.