Avocet Strutting in Salt Lake

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

I made this image couple of weeks back in Antelope Island State Park.

It has been quite a good year for me with finding a new spot in Antelope Island and going to that place every day after work for last 2 weeks.
It all came together for the image and this is one my very best images of this year.

Hope you like it as much as I do.



Camera Settings:-
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Nikon D850 600 f/4 + 1.4 x TCIII
Info 1/3200s f/11.0 ISO3600 +2/3 EV
Manual with Auto ISO; Matrix metering

Below is my reasoning for choosing Manual with Auto ISO. With my past experience, I knew that +2/3 EV gives me perfect exposure for this tonality and this light.
With Light constant (No Clouds) and with Tonality of the scene same (Same background) I opted for Manual with Auto ISO as I wanted to control Aperture if the bird comes very close keeping the shutter speed high to avoid motion blur.
Excellent D850 did its job on ISO.


Post Processing:-
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Raw Processing using C1P 20
Slight 2/3 Crop
Tonal Adjustments in Viveza
Neat Image NR
Sharpening for Presentation
Dodge selectively on the raised foot.
Cloned few spots on the Water (Based on earlier comments in this forum).


Let me know your thoughts and comments.

Thanks
Krishna

[Brian Sump]

Krishna, I really appreciate the effort you put into producing the desired image. Also for taking suggestions into consideration, not limited to the imperfections on the water. To me it's a substantial difference maker!

As usual, your composition in terms of subject on soft but beautiful bkgs is fantastic.

Only other feedback would be that the whites feel just a touch bright to me particularly near the beak and the feathers at the top of the leg. I also would be curious what a 5x7 crop would do in terms of reducing some of the space above. I know you like more room on your images.

Good stuff man.

[David Roach]

Sweet perfection to me. The whites look great on my just calibrated monitor and I love the raised foot. TFS

[Jonathan Ashton]

Beautiful image Krishna, love the composition and the pose, colours look super. I think we would all be proud if we had taken this image - well done.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is highly appealing, and the raised foot adds so much more to an already strong scene. My favorite shorebird spot is still flooded with no mudflats exposed whatsoever...argghh!

[Robert Kimbrell]

Another beauty. Love the rich colors in the chest. I Like the head turn and foot position. The light clouds really add to the image. A small Sensor dust spot under the toes.

[Arthur Morris]

Gorgeous times 3! The BKGR colors are sublime. All the WHITEs look fine to me. I would not haavae minded the bird a bit more to our left in the frame.

with love, artie

[Bill Dix]

A sweet frame in every regard. Love the muted colors, pose, background. Easy to see why it's a favorite.

[John Mack]

Spot on all around. Nice low angle and pose. The colors look great, espcially the background.