Blacksmith Lapwing Youngster

[hennieloots]

We were treated by a Mom with 3 very little youngsters this past weekend at Marievale bird sanctuary. The little ones are quite fast and mobile, giving my camera and lens's AF a run for their money as there where not much contrast between them and the surroundings. This little one ventured into the open in some nice early light and gave me a very nice pose. The first time I came close enough to actually photograph them large enough in view not to need a magnifying glass to find them on the screen! I enjoyed it a lot; hope you do too.

Techs: Canon EOS 7D | Canon EF600mm f4L IS II USM + 1.4x III – 1/3200s @ F/8.0 & ISO: 1600 |EB: +1/3 EV| On Gimbal head on tripod from hide |
PP:
Crop – 40% of original
LR – , Adjustments to Blacks, Shadows, Whites & Highlights slider,Clarity to subject only, Sharpened, NR
PS6 –Minimal CW rotation, Decrease HL with Luminosity mask, Midtone contrast added with luminosity mask, Burned to reduce HL on wood on RHS, minimal burn to FG and a few small specular HL in the BG. Sharpening using USM masked to subject, NR masked to upper portion of BG.
Regards
Hennie

[Karl Egressy]

Super cute little bird. I like the raised foot and the nice details.

[Arthur Morris]

Hey Hennie, Super sharp and super cute. And the raised foot does not hurt either. I'd eliminate the angled white line just behind the chick and tone down the whites on the unfortunate piece of wood on the right.

[Richard Unsworth]

Seen these in Botswana years ago, very cute, sharp and well composed.
One thing that strikes me is the similarity between the young of these and other waders, shape wise.

[Richard Flack]

Hi Hennie. Really cute and great IQ on the bird. Love the raised foot. IMO the BG is a bit distracting. TFS. Rich

[hennieloots]

Thank you all for having a look and the kind comments.
Arthur, Richard - I do agree on your take on the BG issue; I will attempt to improve in PS.
Cheers
Hennie