I came back to this because it was bugging me a bit. I hope you don't mind some CC? The cormorant really is blending into the water so it's very hard to see. Try giving the shadows a lift and see if it helps. Besides that, it's a great action shot of something not seen every day, so it's a keeper. Well done.
I don't mind at all , I am crap at LR and PS so don't do much of it , I will look up what you have said and watch some videos on how to do it . The Cormorants body is under the water though and the tail feathers are sticking out , so I am not sure I can do much with it .
Do you want to do it so I can see what you mean then I'll play with a couple of other images I have done .
You are welcome. Also lifted micro-contrast of some selected regions to give them a pop and some touch up here and there.
Sundar beat me to it so all good. What editing program do you use and what computer - Windows or Mac?
I use photoshop elements on Mac. It is a tough situation to get the right exposure to begin with, shaded pond with a black bird in the middle. Perhaps it calls for the use of histogram while shooting.
Wow I'm getting in a bit of a muddle here. I thought I asked Richard what his editing software and computer system was.
I use a MacBook Pro and have LR and PS , but I am only just starting to use LR and PS , so I am just getting my head around it .
Richard, your best friend in learning LR and PS is You Tube. Check out a site called phlearn, I use this all the time in developing and editing my videos and images. It is my go to reference material for when I am stuck or learning something new.