Black Stilt in bright sunshine

[Ian McHenry]

Hello from Christchurch, New Zealand.
The attached shot was taken with a Pentax K10D and an old 400mm Sigma AF.
Unfortunately I have been unable to track down original so no EXIF but it was taken on a sunny late summer morning probably @ F5.6 on aperture priority.
Apart from bracketing all shots of this particular bird any advice would be appreciated.
My editing is done with Photoshop Elements.
My main concern is the sunlight glow around the legs.
With Thanks
My First Post
Ian McHenry

[Alfred Forns]

Morning Ian (at least here) Agree the legs do look funky Sort of glowing Not sure how they got that way Might want to look at original Selecting would be the way to do

Would straighten seems tilted Would move camera down to keep the head from merging with edge Actually getting really low would have given you sweet perspective

[Lana Hays]

Al has made some good suggestions for shooting. I don't know what's happened either in the post processing. You might want to post an untouched original. It would certainly give us some idea of what needed to be done and a better suggestions on your post processing.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Al & Lana.
Will have another check of CD & USB penlights for original.
Appreciate advice on straightening and getting down low.
So much to remember !!! LOL.
Just getting the hang of making regular histogram checks while shooting !!!

[Ian McHenry]

I now think the leg halo is from chromatic aberration which might be improved by stopping down aperture.
Ian McHenry

[Paul Davey]

Ian, the aberration can be a result of extensive cropping or using lower quality optics. I am not familiar with your Sigma, but if it really is "old" that may be your answer. Not sure about the aperture making this. Make sure when getting down low you don't do it when the bird is aware of your presence, i.e. alert. Well, at least I think so. I have often approached a bird, such as a normal old Red-billed Gull, and the minute I crouch down to take the photo the bird gets spooked and takes off. This is rather odd considering you'd think they'd be less wary of your presence as a small and lower profile.

Paul

[Jim Neiger]

Hi Ian,

I have a few suggestions for you for next time. Try to photograph from a lower angle. This will increase the distance between the bird and the bg. By doing this you can take the bg out of focus and produce a much less distracting bg. Try to go photographing when the light is at a much lower angle, early morning or late afternoon are best. The bg seems tilted quite a bit and need lots of rotation. The bird is centered in the frame. In this case I would have liked it better on the left side of the frame leaving space in the direction the bird is facing. Last but not least, the size of the posted image is much smaller than allowed. If you post at the max size, we can see and evalutate the image better.

[Ian McHenry]

Thanks Paul and Jim.
Jim: Lots of good advice here thank you.
Cheers: Ian McHenry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ianrmc/