Three-banded Plover

[Chris van Rooyen]

The light was not great, so the SS inevitably chased up the ISO. I could probably have gone for a slower SS, but hopefully the noise is not too bad. I removed a few pieces of debris in the water. About 50% crop.

Camera Model: NIKON Z 9
Shutter speed: 1/6400 sec
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 7200
Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

Processed with DXO PureRaw2 for noise reduction, LR & PS

Thanks for viewing:S3:

[William Dickson]

I like your idea of the crop here Chris....It' a pity that line in the BG crossed over the far wing...I would try reducing the greens they look a wee bit saturated to me....I like the flight pose and can see detail on the bird, but I reckon it could go sharper(maybe too much NR)

Will

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks for the constructive criticism William, all valid points. I think I need to re-calibrate my screen, I haven't done so for a long time, might be part of the problem.

[Dorian Anderson]

This is a bit I wanted to photograph (shorebirds are my fav), but I wasn't able to do so on either of my trips despite seeing lots (mostly in areas where I couldn't get out of the car or into the habitat).

I agree with William about the green being too intense. Easy fix though. The light line through the BG is more troubling, particularly as it intersects the bird's right wing and causes distraction. Also,
whit's on the trailing edges of the wings looks hot. But the bird is sharp and in an interesting setting, so there is some good stuff here.

[Brian Sump]

Chris, lots to like here.

The pose and eye contact are just about perfect. I love saturated colors and I like the greens though pulling back just a hair is probably prudent.

The shoreline is a bit unfortunate and I do think you could massage it a bit to deal and lessen the effects of it. Also, I might suggest taking steps to reduce the blues in the plumage on the subject.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks Brian and Dorian, excellent suggestions as always. Pity you could not get a chance to photograph them while you were here Dorian, I'm lucky to have a breeding population at our local waterworks which are tame and very approachable.