Hadada Ibis

Just processing some shots from S Africa in March and applying the tips given on here

Unfortunately there is no more space at the bottom of the image as I (intended) to take the shot like that to help to disguise the wooden rail that it was standing on ……. the Hadada, (it gets its name from its call - which is not pleasant at all - especially at first light when you are trying to sleep!!), is quite a big bird and somewhat stupid in the "slow moving" sense
I had no difficulty in getting near this bird as they were regular visitors onto the "wooden" decking in the place that we stay at.

Comments and Critique really appreciated on composition etc.,

Nikon D7100
Nikon 300mm f2.8VR
f4
ISO 400
light was bright - I should have used f8 as I had plenty of leeway at 1/3200th sec
slight crop and then to 4 x 5 and processing in LR/PS
lightweight monopod

I'm happy with space to left, right and above …… below??

Nice pose captured and your choice of crop is pretty good given the circumstances.

Great BG, details and bird position. Like the eye contact too. Yes below space is the issue and with above crop you did the best. TFS.

Cheers,
Miro

Upon closer look this species has some nice colours hidden in its plumage (especially the blue areas). Funny after-preen pose. In this case it would have been better to include more of the perch no matter how undesirable it is IMO...or perhaps wait for one perched elsewhere since it seems they are rather approachable. I do find the image a tad on the cool side - perhaps adding some reds to the color balance would be good. Very sharp details and I like the background.

Thanks everyone

I agree that it does look a little on the cold side remembering the lighting conditions and weather I took the shot in - thanks for pointing that out

The perch - I know that it is not good - I concentrated on the bird more and forgot the overall image balance

THe perch is not attractive at all. Lovely bird and details, too closely cropped to the feet and not far enough above. Lighting was quite strong, but you handled it well.
Keep up the great learning curve! :S3: