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BillTyler
04-26-2009, 12:43 PM
American Avocet at Palo Alto Baylands. Sigma 500mm f/16, 1/250 ISO 400.

Bill
Axel Hildebrandt
04-26-2009, 01:12 PM
I like the pose and eye contact. There seems to be some motion blur, you could have gone to f/8 or 11 for higher shutter speed, maybe you could try to sharpen the bird more. I would also give it more room.
Stu Bowie
04-26-2009, 01:22 PM
Lovely low angle, and agree with Axel with regards to ss.
Fabs Forns
04-26-2009, 02:28 PM
Yes, the eye does not see that sharp and I wonder why you used f/16 for this, unless you were doing something else and this was a target or opportunity. The side light gives a slight shadow in the neck. Nice breeding colors!
Aidan Briggs
04-26-2009, 03:40 PM
Good Comments above. If possible an even lower angle would have been better.

Are these guys approachable at Palo Alto? I've been wanting to create some images of these guys.
BillTyler
04-26-2009, 04:21 PM
Good Comments above. If possible an even lower angle would have been better.

Are these guys approachable at Palo Alto? I've been wanting to create some images of these guys.

They're very approachable, or at least if you stay still THEY will approach YOU. The best spot I've found in Palo Alto is at the Baylands. The map at http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=6118 shows an area circled with a red line labeled Nesting Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets. This area is right next to a parking lot. Walk across the road and set up on the shore of the pond. (Pond doesn't show on the map, but it's approximately the same as the area circled in red.) Sit still, and avocets and stilts will both come pretty close to you. You'll see birds sitting on eggs as well, though they can't and shouldn't be approached. If you go there late afternoon, you'll also likely see several specimens of the lesser American bird photographer.

Bill
BillTyler
04-26-2009, 09:12 PM
Yes, the eye does not see that sharp and I wonder why you used f/16 for this, unless you were doing something else and this was a target or opportunity. The side light gives a slight shadow in the neck. Nice breeding colors!

f/16 is a little small, but the lens I was using is manual focus, and a bit of extra DOF is handy. (Fast long AF lenses have to wait until my kids are done with college :-) I should probably have either opened up a bit or bumped up the ISO to get a faster shutter speed.

Bill