The case of the periwinkle pompadour

[Chris Korman]

Well, perhaps your traditional blue heron, though his crest is what interested me.

http://webs.lanset.com/hypoploi/jpeg/blueheron.jpg

1/1600, F/8, ISO400, 400 mm f/5.6, cropped and added a slight curves adjustment, websize sharpened.

[Rachel Farquhar]

I like the way the lighting on his face brings out his eye, and the way this pose diplays the long white neck feathers against the darker body feathers. I think a crop with more of the reflection in the water would have helped balance the photo.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

I like the sharpness, the details, the exposure, the s-curve of the neck and how you shown a bit of environment here. The white OOF circles above the head of the bird draw a bit of attention away from the bird though.

[John Chardine]

Nice heron portrait Chris. They are very skittish birds in our parts. You did well. I think you have given a bit too much room from the "virtual feet" at the bottom of the image and I would give a bit more room at the top. Nothing you can do in post-processing, but it would have been nice to have the bird's head rotated a little towards you rather than away.

[Chris Korman]

Rachel, Thanaboon & John, thank you for the comments and critiques. I'll investigate another cropping, as I have real estate on every side of the photo to draw from.