Great blue heron in partly shadowed water

[Big_Stan 18]

I've got this shot of a GB wading in partly shadowed water.  Not a great shot, but I want use it to improve my PP techniques.  I know, I should have used a polarizing filter but I did not have it with me.  Does anybody have a suggestion on how to best remove the glare from the unshadowed water?  I am using C1 and Affinity Photo.

 

[toltec 1,240]

I would select the water, then play around with the Haze Filter until you are happy.

You don't want to overdo it though, it still wants to show the Heron is in water.

[carl123 2,442]

Not much I could do to recover this image but here are the steps I used -  you may have better results with more time spent on it

Haze removal
Colour Balance Adjustment
Clone brush around edges
Dodge & Burn

 

[Big_Stan 18]

I like it, nicely done!! Will you please outline what specific steps you went through to accomplish it?

Thank you