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Patricio Murphy
11-15-2008, 06:18 PM
A weekm ago I went for the first time to shoot shorebirds. I came with more lessons on how-to for the next time than good images. :)
Anyways, besides the fact that the light didn't help and I discovered the AI lever in my D200 is broken, I'm quite happy with this shot of three black skimmers doing their show.
ISO400, 1/2000 f/5.6, C/W +1 1/3
As always, critiques welcome (most specially those who might help me get sharper shots in windy conditions, I struggled with that situation, and was most succesfully defeated by it!) Next time I expect to do better. :)

http://www.patriciomurphy.com.ar/galerias/punta_rasa/images/20081108_054.jpg
Axel Hildebrandt
11-15-2008, 08:05 PM
I like the similar wing positions of the two birds on the right and might be tempted to clone out the third one. You could try to sharpen the birds a bit more, they look a bit soft on my monitor.
Linda Robbins
11-15-2008, 08:17 PM
I like the juxtaposition of the three birds in the frame, but it would have been better had the bird in the back had the same wing position as the other two. Not that you can have any control over that! I think you have oversaturated the bills a bit...easy to do with oranges and reds. Flight shots can be a challenge...especially in really windy conditions, but the more images you take, the better they get!
Patricio Murphy
11-15-2008, 09:28 PM
Thanks for the comments!
Linda, you're right about the bills, at first I boosted the reds a bit and liked it, but later on I too find I oversaturated them.
I'd love to control the wong position of the birds :) Unfortunately, I'm using a manual focus tele, and I'm busy enough tryng to get them just in focus!
Axel, I'll try to give a little more sharpening. To be honest, I didn't overdo it because the birds are not that sharp to start with, I thought I'd get more artifacts than definition, but I'll give it a try.
Being yet more honest, I came quite dissapointed with most of my bird shots on this trip, and look forward to the next visit to this particular spot hoping to have learned some lessons and do better!