how can this be better ?
how can this be better ?
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
D3400 a kit 70 - 300mm tele lens ISO 400, fl 300, exposure 1/1600, f6.3
Hi Michael. You have a reasonably low angle and the action is really cool. Detail in the bird also looks good. The only problem I see is the background which is just too obvious and not very attractive. Cleaning it up in post processing is unlikely to help because you’d lose all the splashes. You could get somewhere by cropping more tightly. The best thing to do would be to create you’re own setup with a raised bath that let’s you get the background further away and both more uniform and more out of focus. It takes a bit of experimentation to find the right setup to make it work well.
thanks Dennis, the really hard part is to get the bird to cooperate 
Trying to freeze action like this is very difficult. One needs the fastest SS possible under the circumstances, and the highest ISO your camera can handle.
For flying birds and any shot where quick action is anticipated, I’m usually at a SS of at least 1/2500 and an ISO of 2000-2500 or more.
Actually, I’m usually set as high as possible, hoping to catch an unexpected bird flying overhead or diving off a perch into flight.
you’re certainly right that the bird;'s cooperation is needed - and does not happe often !
Sandy
thanks Sandy, I thought about a faster shutter speed and high ISO after the fact … hind sight is 20/20 Lol, I did not anticipate the action I got, I thought the bird was just going to sit there not take a crazy bath 
adapt and overcome
The pic says nothing in any concise way, the bird could be fighting for it’s life. Always problematic when a pic needs a title so the viewer knows what their looking at.
