Ruddy Turnstone as Port Mahon, DE

[Douglas Bolt]

Ruddy in flight with 1DM2, 400 DO, f9, 1/1250, ISO 400, set Manual

[Robert O'Toole]

How cool, love the colors and the details. The head angle and direction just about perfect for me.

2 things that i think would make the image even better. NR on the BG and I would blur the far wing very very slightly. The image was a little back focussed so the back wing is a little more sharp so it tends to drag your eye back there.

Robert

[Robert Amoruso]

Good job getting the breeding color Ruddy in flight. Besides bluring the back wing as suggested, combine with additional sharpening of the head which is where you wanted focus.

[Glenn Ehmke]

Great looking bird. I like Roberts ideas, possibly also a little too tightly cropped (personal opinion though really).

Great detail in the wing plumage - well done!

[ashkan ojaghi]

Hi .. the bird is so cute and i loved the contrast between the warm colors of the birds' wings and the cold color of the water .. what do you think about this?
i've just sharpen the bird and blurred the BG and raised the contrast slightly and cropped a little (i'm not sure about it!) ..

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great capture and eye contact. Adding to the other comments, I would tone down the whites a bit. Keep them coming!

[Arthur Morris]

The repost is an improvement. Thanks Ashkan! Douglas, you might want to get rid of some of the specular highlights and junk on the bill. All in all, PDG (pretty damned good!)

[Douglas Bolt]

http://boltassociates.com/MyPics/Ruddy-2-M2_16865.jpg

Thanks for all the great comments and suggestions. I tried to incorporate them into this version with a little more selective sharpening, extra Soft Light blend, plus blurring and darkening of the background.

doug

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Great capture and the first time I have seen a ruddy in flight. Your timing was perfect and I love the flight pose . Exposure was right on with excellent detail. I like the repost and the suggestions that have been offered. Many thanks for sharing this beauty !!!