American Oystercatcher Juvenile

[Bill Dix]

A parent Oystercatcher, giving foraging lessons on the beach, had just dug up a tidbit and deposited it on the sand. Junior, tripping eagerly along behind, snatched it up.

D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 5000, 1/1250s @ f/8 manual.

[gail bisson]

Excellent POV and IQ . Hard to get good IQ on really cloudy dark days like this. Looks really good for an ISO of 5000.
But whats makes this image for me is the ankle bracelet! So fun!
It is also really neat that the invertebrate tidbits match the colors in the bill.
Nice comp and I like the way the FG transitions almost seamlessly into the BG. I would clone/smooth out the faint dark round shapes on the right of bird under the rump.
I am OK with the little clump of sand ( ?parent footprint) to the left of OC but could see a version with it cloned out.
TFS
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

Hey Bill, lovely image. I have never seen a juvenile Oystercatcher so this is a treat. The new cameras are amazing at high ISO's with the proper exposure. Nice story, must have been fun to watch. Thank you for sharing.

[Alex Becker]

Nicely captured Bill. Details look good for both the overcast weather and ISO. I also agree that I would clone out the footprint to the left, but really like the bit around the ankle. I like the subtle transition between beach and either sky or water. Was this at Sandy Hook? TFS

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all.

Gail, the sand blob on the left is the hole from which the parent extracted the invertebrate. I thought about cloning it out, but decided it was part of the story. From the point of view of image design it would probably be better without it.

Alex, this was from Nickerson Beach on Wednesday morning.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the hunched pose, and piece of vegetation around the legs. I also like the wert look. I do find the blacks a touch dark, but no one has mentioned it so it might be just me...

[John Mack]

The low angle is nice and the food item the thing around the ankle is a nice touch.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Great capture, Bill and wonderful time to watch the parents teaching their young. Love the seaweed wrapped around the leg.

Geoffrey




http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Daniel, John and Geoffrey. I had also thought the blacks looked a bit dark, and prior to posting the OP I tried reducing the black in the blacks in Selective Color, but I didn't like the look of it, and left it alone. In this repost I have brightened the entire image by 8 points, and reduced the contrast by 15 points. Maybe better?