The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
About This Image
American Bittern (Botaurus lintiginosus)
I recently saw three Bitterns flying around the local wetlands and was determined to get some shots. It took quite a while for me to actually locate it amongst the reeds.
Feedback Requested
General feeling of the image. Does the composition (almost square) work?
Technical Details
Camera: NIKON Z 8
Lens: NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S
Focal length: 840mm
Shutter speed: 1/2500s
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 2800
Great job getting the focus to lock on between all the reeds, David. Did you use a small focus point or go to manual? The bittern looks just a bit bright to my eye, but could well be accurate.
Well captured with the reeds in front. They add a nice environmental perspective to the bittern. The focus and techs look great with the eye being very sharp, but I echo Dennis’s point - you can try and bring the exposure in the breast area down a bit. I like your composition as well.
That’s one thing I miss about my old Canon bodies. They had a single center AF point that you could use in situations like that, though the eye AF helps a lot.
I like the revised version the best. Focus on the eye is spot on and am glad that you were able to snag the subject in all of those reeds. These are challenging to find and the surrounding bit of habitat helps the viewer understand the natural history of these “stealth herons”. A nice shot indeed!..Jim
HI David, congrats on getting a nice shot of this elusive bird. Wonderful just to see one and getting a fine photo like this is great. Love the revised version.
