You captured some nice action yet the background is rather busy taking away from the subject. A bit less sharpening will make the image look more natural. When you see something like this going on, try and move to a location where there is less in the background and shoot wide open to blur the background the best you can. Of the three, the second is my pick for the water drops that tell more of a story.
I like the first one because you can immediately see that the prey is a frog more easily, with an almost classic look to the dangling legs. My suggestion mirror's Morris as to sharpening and background.
If you have your heart set on keeping the full reflection, and you have wall space already chosen for a portrait-oriented print, I would ask how much, if at all, is the image already cropped, because playing with the composition would be key to framing.
The other question I would have is how large do you plan to print?
Those answers play into how I'd crop... a small print wouldn't have as much impact with the full reflection from any kind of distance, so I'd be more inclined to lose the reflection in trade off towards a larger more interesting subject and having the viewer more easily see the frog and other details, etc.
But that is just one guy's opinion, there are rules of thumb, but in the end you have to be happy.
Have fun, and let us know how you decide to go, it's cool to see how people use their images.
Eric
I like the first one because you can immediately see that the prey is a frog more easily, with an almost classic look to the dangling legs. My suggestion mirror's Morris as to sharpening and background.
If you have your heart set on keeping the full reflection, and you have wall space already chosen for a portrait-oriented print, I would ask how much, if at all, is the image already cropped, because playing with the composition would be key to framing.
The other question I would have is how large do you plan to print?
Those answers play into how I'd crop... a small print wouldn't have as much impact with the full reflection from any kind of distance, so I'd be more inclined to lose the reflection in trade off towards a larger more interesting subject and having the viewer more easily see the frog and other details, etc.
But that is just one guy's opinion, there are rules of thumb, but in the end you have to be happy.
Have fun, and let us know how you decide to go, it's cool to see how people use their images.
Eric...Show more →
Thank you for the insight Eric.
The print I'm considering is going to be either 8 X 10 or 8 X 12.
The image is not sharp enough to go larger in my opinion.
It was shot while on a road trip. As I drove by this small pond I noticed the Egret struggling with something. Shaking its head. I thought it might have been a fishing lure.
I immediately pulled out my camera from the back seat. Mounted the Canon 100-400L IS lense with the Canon 1.4 extender.
I felt I didn't have time to dig the mono pod or tripod out of the trunk before the bird flew away.
So, this is a hand held shot in early morning light.
I'm hoping to get a decent print regardless of the shot being hand held.
Thanks to all for the great input.
Tyrolblue67
