My Best Great Blue Heron Shots

Let me say ... I am a long way from PRO ...
... but these (to me) are the best so far!
( comments welcome! )

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They both utilize dof to isolate the subjects. Compositionally, tho, #1 is too close to the bottom border. Also, it seems to be a little soft or perhaps the POF was a little off. #2 is the better of the two. However, it's curious that at least to my eye, the bokeh seems to be different in 1 than in 2. A lens change perhaps? /Dan

Edit: the hot spots in the rocks in 1 are a little distracting - again, perhaps because the bokeh seems a little different? I like the sharpness and exposure in 2. As attached images, they probably had to be scaled down so my guess is that the original #2 is nice and sharp.

I would like the background of #1 with the focus of #2.

#1 is obviously out of focus, but #2 is too zoomed in because all you see is rocks in the background.Showing where your subject is can be very stimulating as well.

Forogt to add both have the subject centered in the shot. The rule of thirds should be followed for this type of shot.

I forgot something also - small point, but the signature is overly obtrusive, especially in #1 where it has become a distraction. You might want to consider toning it down. /Dan

About these two shots:
The lens was a 70-200mm 2.8 IS
The first one I did an auto adjust in CS2
the second one (I think) the contrast was auto adjusted

In one of the shots I was a bit closer ... and these shots were sized down a bit!

As for my signature ... those were attempts which even I didn't care for.