"That wax in my ear.....!!"

aka Blue Crane.

I used stealth and cunning to capture this shot, also I think he was too intent on sorting out his "itch"..... giving me a little more edge.

I used the 2x on my 200mm, shooting at the full 400mm, hence the diffused background, which, incidentally was the far bank of the waterway we were exploring.

Regards 

Love the caption Grayham, seems very apt. Another great shot!

Regards

Louise

Beautifully composed. The bokeh is gorgeous. I like how the old branches frame the bird. Nice detail in the feathers. Good title. This looks like a blue heron. Excellent shot.

Linda

My apology for the late reply..... I forgot to tick the "notify of comment" box on this one.

Thank you for your visit and kind comment.

Regards

I, like you, appreciate honest and detailed comments. So, for this comment today, I give you a 10 (smiles)....... not because you "pushed" all the right buttons but because of your recognition and observations of what I was trying to achieve in taking this image. My PS manipulation here is a miniscule crop and re-size.

Thank you for your time........ really appreciated.

Best regards

Grayham,

Great shot and funny caption. Does look like he has an itchy ear, lol. Bokeh and sharpness are perfect. :)

Thanks for stopping by........... I apprecaite your comments.

Regards

Your comment and/or advice is always welcomed........ thanks for

viewing larger..............

Hi Grayham, a very well caught shot with amusing title.

Best regards

gareth.

Grayham,

What a wonderful shot!  Love the framing and the bokeh.  Great detail in the bird as well, especially the face, which is partially due to the nice lighting.  And of couse the bird's position is unique.  I also like your precise ID of the bird.  Great shot!

Regards,

Thanks for stopping by..... I always appreciate your visits.

Best regards

Thanks for your visit and observations............ every once in a while a good image comes together as one would like it to be. For me, this is one of those "occasional" shots and I was really pleased with the outcome. Bearing in mind that it was a really sh*tty day weatherwise, I was delighted to only have to effect a small crop to enhance the presentation aspect.

I appreciate your kind comments........ thank you.

Regards

Exceptional background. Makeup for the photo, good title. Compliments. Best wishes.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comments.

Regards

Great action shot Grayham and the subject certainly "pops" in this image. Thank you for your recent comment and editing on my image. Regards. Bob

Thanks for giving this image the "Pop" factor and for stopping by.

Appreciate it........

Regards

Grayham, beautiful shot. Great boheh making the bird pop, good color and sharpness, good stop action (shutter speed), great skill in getting close enough, love the old branches.

I do notice the lower branch is just little blown out in a few spots. I may have tried to darken the shot a little to see if the lighter spots got more subdued without affecting the bird’s coloration. Did you get a chance to play with settings to be able to select shots from?

Thank you so much for your kind comments. Regarding the small "blowouts" on the lower branch...... these old trees are the roost of many waterbirds and some sections of the branches have been worn smooth from continuous use, and tend to absorb the reflection from the low cloud cover (if that makes sense?). Yes, I did try to darken the image a tad but decided the "trade-off" between colour and blowouts, favoured the colour.

Time is not a luxury one has when shooting birds..... so, no, I was not able to try different settings..... one shutter-click and they're gone (smiles).

Thanks for your interest, comments and visit.

Best regards