Sanderling/Atlantic Ocean Blur

[Arthur Morris]

Not much was happening at Nickerson this morning so I headed west down the beach to look for the big flock of Sanderlings that I had seen in flight and found them. I made lots of blurs. They were all created with the Canon 800mm f/5.6 L IS and my new EOX-1DX. ISO 50. Exposure set after histogram check of the flock on the beach: 1/15 sec. at f/29 in Manual mode. Can you say "dust spots"???

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Arthur Morris]

ps; there is one bird that bothers me quite a bit; does anyone care to guess?

[Arthur Morris]

pps: you can see the frame that I made moments before the flock took flight here (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php/102542) in Avian.

[Maureen Allen]

Hi Artie! Beautiful blur. I need to head to Crystal River and practice some blurs.

My guess is that your bothersome bird is one of the two I've circled. The one on the right looks as if it's heading in a different direction than the other birds, and the one I've circled on the left looks a bit odd to me :S3:

[Arthur Morris]

Good work Maureen; it's the one on the left near the rule of thirds point that bugs the heck out of me. I tried getting rid of it but it looked too phony....

[Cheryl Slechta]

Artie, I love the blur and I didn't mind the offending bird that much. The only thing that bothers me is the light streak on the horizon under the birds on the far left.:S3:

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, I love the blur and I didn't mind the offending bird that much. The only thing that bothers me is the light streak on the horizon under the birds on the far left.:S3:

Thanks Cheryl. I barely noticed that; it is surely from a gull flying in the opposite direction....

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Artie, great image! I look forward to trying out some pleasing blurs (just read that chapter in ABPii). I would have loved it if you could have been up on a really tall ladder thus making the background uniform with the blue from the water ;) I'm not sure if it helps the birds pop out as much as I just like the light diagonals that you get from what I presume to be waves. Great stuff!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Miguel. Thanks a stack for your membership support. It is greatly appreciated. Good luck on the ladder idea. I sort of like the 3/5 dark-2/5 light look. The diagonals are from the chop and the waves and the direction that I was panning. Do check out A Guide to Pleasing Blurs (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=298) that was co-authored by Denise Ippolito. Good to see you in OOTB!

[Anita Bower]

Here is a blur that I find quite pleasing. I like the two toned blue background--gives added interest. The birds circled by Maureen don't bother me a bit. The white mentioned by Cheryl is a minor distraction. I would clone out some of the partial birds flying out of the image--just a few. The blur of the birds is just enough to give the sense of motion while knowing they are birds. Well done.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Anita. I am usually an edge-freak but there are too many here to deal with and with the streaks and all the different tones of blue I just left them all :).

[denise ippolito]

I like the two tone background as it adds interest to me. I also like the panning lines that are slightly diagonal. Nice random pattern. I think that Cheryl picked out the only minor distraction to me.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Lady D.

[Indranil Sircar]

Hi Artie, I think the bg really makes this so much more interesting. Fantastic blur!

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Arthur, love the blurred birds against the diagonal lines in the ocean blur. I agree with Indranil that that makes it so interesting and pleasing to look at.