Semipalmated Plover II

[Ilija Dukovski]

I really enjoy these guys, can't have enough of them.
Here I was thinking of removing the BG dark patches since they
are at the level of the head, but than I realized the patch is broken
just in front of the head. The problem, however, is that the dark seems
out of balance hanging on the plover's feet. Get rid of the dark BG or not?

Also, I'd appreciate comments about the sharpness here,
when I look at it in PS, this one looks over-sharpened,
however in Firefox it is getting softened a bit I think.

CC appreciated.

Nikon D80
Nikkor 300mm+TC1.4 Matrix AP+2/3 1/5.6 1/640 ISO400

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nice low angle on this cute little fellow. I would vote for removal (or at least toning down alot) of the dark band behind the head. Sharpness-wise, it looks sharp enough on my monitor - but it lacks the fine details almost as if it was a large crop. P.S. good head turn by the plover

[Kiran Poonacha]

Loved the low angle, details and the HA looks good.. congrats..

[Stu Bowie]

Perfect low angle, and certainly a good HA. Well exposed, and as Dan stated, the white area of the belly lacks detail, as if some NR was run over it, but Im sure Im wrong.

[David Gancarz]

Lovely image. I'd be inclined to turn this into a portrait of the plover by replacing the brown, head-level strip with OOF sand. The subtle shadow of the bird on the sand beneath is very nice and will complement to portrait view.

[Aidan Briggs]

Ditto Daniel. Fine feather detail is a bit lacking. I also wish for more room in front.

[Harshad Barve]

lovely HA and low angle , wish for some space in front
TFS

[Ilija Dukovski]

Thanks for the comments, not sure about the lack of detail, this is not a large crop.
Probably low light is the reason. Thanks again!