Roseate Spoonbill

[Miguel Palaviccini]

I found a neat place in Ft Meyers Beach, FL called Little Estero Lagoon. It's "hidden" behind a Holiday Inn and I was amazed at the wildlife back there. I got to experience a reddish doing it's predatory dance. At one point, the reddish got within my min focus distance - and I decided to enjoy the moment instead of trying to capture it. It was something else!

There were about a half dozen Roseate Spoonbills within about 10-15 yds of me. They seemed to be pretty 'tamed' as they would stay with one leg up and sleeping even when I was that close. Here is one of my favorites from the day. I had a couple that I really liked, but I felt that this one showed the most amount of action.

Comments and critiques are always welcome. I am trying out different processing techniques and may have gone just a bit overboard with Nik's Tonal Contrast and Detail Enhancer. Looked ok at the time, but I'm not sure if it's too much or not. Would like some fresh pairs of eyes on it.

Nikon d300s | 500mm f/4 VR
Manual mode at +2/3 EV
Back-button focusing w/o need to recompose
1/800" | f/4 | ISO 640

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7770419954_3f98c7ea13_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mpalaviccini/7770419954/)

[Jack Breakfast]

Hi! I love the high-key look and artful reflection and pose of the r. spoonbill, but am inclined to agree with your possible diagnosis of perhaps going a tad overboard with the post-proceesing? Some of the feathers look crispy to me, oversharpened and so forth. That said, it's a great shot as far as I'm concerned. I've never played around with the Nik software myself but I'm told it must be used sparingly to have a nice effect...

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Miguel, good low angle, and well timed to capture the scratching behaviour. Colours look good, as does the soft blue water. Im on my laptop, so cant really comment on the processing, but it doesnt look overdone. It does need some CCW rotation though.

[Randy Stout]

Miguel:

Spoonies are always fun to photograph. Nice low shooting angle, like the comp, a bit snug but well composed.

I think everyone who tries Nik Color Efex overdoes it at first. I have really backed off the effect, often using a very low opacity setting to give just a little extra definition without looking overdone.

Agree with Stu about the rotation.

I would probably clean up the smudge just to the right of his shoulder.

Cheers

Randy

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Thanks for the replies. Im trying to be more careful with my processing. I'm not a fan of the overdone shots, but sometimes it's hard to judge unless I wait and take a step back.

[Daniel Cadieux]

That is a great spot, always good stuff to photograph there. I love the scratching action, and the bill touching the water. Comp looks great but I agree it needs rotation. I also agree with eliminating the smudge near the shoulder, and I would look at the raw file to see if you can recover some details in the whites on the neck.

[Satish Ranadive]

Wonderful image.Love the pose,colors and reflection.

Regards,
Satish.