Terek Sandpiper, from the Mattress

[Craig Brelsford]

Another autumn migration season, another trip to Yangkou, Jiangsu for mattress photography. Crawling slowly through the shallow water, my camera and upper body supported by the mattress, I approached to within 10 m of a flock of 1,500 shorebirds. There were 500 dunlins, maybe 600 Kentish plovers--and just one terek sandpiper. But it was the terek that emerged from the flock and came toward me. This rugged individualist distanced himself so far from the flock that none of the other birds is visible in my image. I'd already maneuvered to have the late-afternoon sun behind me, and the mattress guaranteed a good low angle. All I had to do now was click away.

Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal Length: 600 mm
Aperture: F/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1600
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: None
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 1000
Metering Mode: Center-Weight
Subject Distance: 8.4 m
Photoshoppery: Not much beyond the usual sharpening.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Great angle on this one! I really like that even though you were at a low angle, you still have the details in the feet! Detail and sharpening is great. To put this over the top, I would consider a bit of ground clean-up (patch or clone-stamp) and possibly bill clean-up. Looks a bit tight for my taste, but others might disagree

[Richard Unsworth]

Stunning Craig, suspect you have more, great and rare opportunity well executed, the low perspective and angle is a killer

[gail bisson]

What a lovely shorebird. I love the upturned beak and colors.
Great low POV. Good exposure and IQ.
I would like to see a bit more room on the left and would clean up the sand and the white blob between the legs.
Gail

[Randy Stout]

Craig:

Positively subterranean, or should I say submarinerish shooting angle. Nice exposure, sharpness, details. Yes to bit more room on the left would be nice.

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Wow, stunning image. Great shooting angle, details, eye contact and sharpness. I see a little bit of noise in the background. Also there are a few bright circular spots that I would clone out.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Craig, excellent IQ, and you have brought out the detail and colours so well, and you have nailed the sharpness to perfection. Your low perspective has turned out well, and Im fine with the slightly dirty bill. With regards to the BG, all I would do is blend in the circular highlights, and agree, adding a touch to the left wont harm the image.

[Shawn Zierman]

Awesome species. Love how all parts of the bird show well, in great somewhat diffused light quality.
Yes to more room on the left, otherwise rockin!

[Peter Dexter]

Terrific detail and beautiful photo. From the specs the light must have been challenging. I would have liked a little more space around the bird.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the low angle, sharpness, details and walking pose. Well done Craig.

[KK Hui]

A super shot for this species, Craig!
Excellent detail, color and low perspective view ...

[Satish Ranadive]

Absolutely superb image.Love the bird with great details, nice exposure, sharpness,lights and colors.

Regards,
Satish.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot. Excellent low angle, teriffic details, exposed perfectly, great background.
Well done.

[Frank Schauf]

Great picture, nice deep shooting position and great eye contact.