Need help on cropping on a bird shot

[cozmocha]

Not sure what way to go here. Advice?

[arne saknussen]

To me, the third crop is the best. You retain the reflection of the bird in the water, and lose the somewhat distracting foliage.

[hb1944]

I would probably vote for the third crop also.

[SmartWombat]

Middle, definitely.

[OldClicker]

This would be my edit.

If it is not OK to repost your image, say so and I will remove it.

Terry

[arne saknussen]

Yep, the reflection is complete.

[cozmocha]

I don't mind recropping on this one.

Here's the orig shot and a new crop. I took the plant life out of the bottom left with lightroom as a quick edit.

[Greg McCary]

Number two for me.

[cozmocha]

After thinking about it, it might be either a really close up crop (cant do that for a large print because I was only at 300mm) or the 2nd shot with most of the plants. I never really liked shots with ONLY the wildlife and nothing else. I like character and atmosphere then just a bird sometimes. Even though this picture doesnt have that much to add it's at least something.

[Loupey]

I too like #2 of the original crop. But I would add a tad more breathing space on the left side.

I think a 3:2 ratio isn't going to be as strong as a more aggressive 2:1 ratio crop. The implied motion is horizontal and the water above the osprey isn't really contributing to the shot as much as the vegetation.