Posturing

[Cheryl Slechta]

I love the posturing of the male Sandwich Terns. Are the merging beaks a big problem? And the line of surf?

Comments and suggestions appreciated.:)

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Cheryl

Canon 30D, Canon 100-400L, f/9, 1/1000, ISO 200, EV-.7

[Harold Davis]

great pose and light, cheryl. i like the interaction between the two.

one thing i try to do when shooting with birds on the beach is hammer down and take several frames to have different ones to choose from in regards to the waves. i think it would have been better if the main wave hadnt cut through the heads.

you got some really nice detail in these guys. nice job!!

[Dave Mills]

Hi Cheryl, IMO Harold's comments really covered it. I also echo...nice job on this!

[Mark Fuge]

Nice image. I would suggest you consider cropping the right border slightly however. This is like a strong center vertical image, where the subject would have equal open space on either side.

I see two potential crops here. The white line represents equal space behind each bird, as they are facing and touching, neither becomes the main subject. Therefore I would center them based on the open space.

<O:pThat said, I have another possible crop to offer. Center the point on which the bills touch. That is represented by the black crop line on the right.

[Ron Boisvert]

Hi Cheryl, For me, the merging beaks are less of a problem than the surf. Perhaps at f/5.6 it would have been less noticeable than at f/9. It looks like you were pretty low; were you laying on the sand? If not, that could have helped as well. Some carefull PP could help with de-emphasizing the surf line, I think.
I really like the pose; it reminds me of two boxers circling each other. I like it very much - nice image!

[Alfred Forns]

Harold nailed the critique ..... taking many is big time important !! You can't control the waves !!!

Crop wise I don't like taking from the right, it gives a squarish look to the image, just personal taste. Wouldn't mind having a little more on the left side and taking some from the top to stretch it out a bit more.

btw this was not taken flat on the ground but its really nice !!! bg/fg is good and like the reflection !!! ... beaks wise would rather not have the overlap !!!

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Pretty sweet Cheryl. Techs mentioned but I would be pretty happy if this were mine. Exposure looks terrific, and the birds almost look like mirror images.

[Lance Peters]

Love the birds - waves do distract - Harold nailed it - really have to keep a eye on your BG when at the beach - changes in the blink of a eye.
Keep them coming :)

[Cheryl Slechta]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. I'll go back to LR and see if I have any with the surf in a different spot:)

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Cheryl

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Lady Cheryl,
I like the composition and capture...your have very good details and a good color rendition...agree with Doctor Davis on the wave going through the heads...looking forward to your next one...:cool:

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Hi. I think you were rightly concerned on the merge of bills, and the merge with the water line has been covered as well. I think image detail and lighting was very good. One more thing, not that it maters, but these are royal terns. Sandwich terns have black bills with yellow tips, and are a bit smaller. regards~Bill