Purple Sandpiper

[gail bisson]

Taken in Iceland July 2017.
He is standing on dried kelp.
Nothing flashy here but I like the complimentary colors of the kelp and the bird. They camouflage the bird very well.
Canon 1 DX 600mm and 1.4x
ISO 1250 SS 1/500 F 6.3
Small crop for composition ~ 80 % FF.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

Hi Gail. Great pose you have here on very interesting perch. The tones of the bird, kelp and background work really well together. I would love to see a Purple Sandpiper in breeding plumage. We only get them here in the winter when they are purple and look very different. I think the colors are a bit thin on this shot. Checked on my monitor and my iphone as well. I would try adding some blacks to the neutrals or lowering the mid tones a bit to see if that helps. I would probably crop a bit tighter as well. I would also try and clone out the bright white area directly under the bird that I would guess is poop.

[Glenn Pure]

Gail, it's always a treat to open your photos. This one is no exception. Colours and tones look very nice - although I note Isaac's comment that they look muted - without knowing this bird they look fairly natural to me. As usual, clarity is excellent. Composition, background and lighting are great too. The perch does have some bright bits and there's not a lot of tonal separation from the bird. I wonder if it would help to pull back the brightness of the dried kelp to create some greater separation and tame the few highlights there?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Gail I like the composition but the bird looks a little washed out to me - how about a linear curve on the bird?

[Glenn Conlan]

I have enjoyed your Iceland pics, you had a very productive trip. This one is is very nice maybe a little work on the unusual perch to limit the distraction from the detailed subject

[dankearl]

I remember those kelp beds....
Perfect compliment to this species.
I think the bird could use a bit more color.