Oystercatcher "en repose"

[Jake Levin]

After spending most of the afternoon at Nickerson Beach cursing the wind that was blowing straight into the sun, we found this oystercatcher as things began to quiet down and the birds started finding a spot to sleep for the night. There is a very slight crop from the top right, along with basic levels work and a layer mask color adjustment to desaturate the bright blues in the bird's shadow.

In other news, does anyone have experience with color calibration? I had mine spot on for most of this year, but since I've tried to calibrate for the most recent batch of photos, every profile I create with my little calibration machine turns everything dark and red. Something weird is definitely going on.

TTFN
Jake

[Bill Dix]

A nice tight Oystercatcher portrait in strong late afternoon light. The real surprise is the raised foot at the very bottom, that I didn't notice right away. Fine detail is sharper on the body than on the head, and the whites are at 255 in a number of areas. You haven't included the EXIF, but I suspect that with the bird this close you could have had a DOF issue.

[Jake Levin]

Exif data: 1/800 at f/5.6, ISO 800. 7d mk II with 400 DO f/4 IS II. I see what you are talking about re: fine detail, but could that be because the feathers on the body have more apparent detail to begin with? The head is much darker, and I've made sharp pictures at low DOF and close distance before. Or I could've screwed up :)

Edited to add: I checked the AF point in DPP, and it was right under the eye, so I know I got that bit right.

[David Salem]

Nice capture. I'm sure the RAW is sharp, just needs more sharpening for the web. Well done

[Marina Scarr]

Would have liked to see a wider crop esp on top. Fun pose on this female.