heron by the pond

[mapgirl]

I spent a long time just watching this heron poke in and out of the trees and tall grasses around this pond, when it finally came up on shore. Any comments or suggestions? I know what effect I had in mind, but would rather hear how others respond first.

 

[tirediron]

A nice capture, herons are amazing birds to watch. I love the relections, but I would suggest cropping out a great deal of the sand and tightening in much more on the bird. As well, I think a slight increase in saturation on the bird, and a tweak of the levels to make him (her?) stand out a little more would help.

 

[rein]

agree, her head is almost blending with the sand, nice shot!

 

[lostprophet]

HERON!!!

 

[mapgirl]

Thanks all for the comments! I was wondering about the amount of sand in the picture. But I wanted to get a kind of Asian art, contemplative feel. In other words, I wanted the almost bland, dry, subtleties of the sand playing against the green, lushness of the water. But I can see how I could pull the top portion down a bit.

 

[JimmyO]

I did a little editing. I made one layer have the sand, then the other be just the bird and the water. Then i played around with it a little so the bird stood out a little more against the sand.

 

[Ben-71]

I like it as is, and would like it even more if about a third is cropped at the left side.