Semipalmated Plover Preening

[Josh Gahagan]

Here's another one from South Beach this past weekend. As I was heading back to meet up with my mom and leave, I ran into this very cooperative juvenile semipalmated plover. I got some really nice images of it, and thought this image of it preening was decent enough to post.

20D, 400 f5.6, 1/1600 @ f6.3, ISO 400.

http://i610.photobucket.com/albums/tt184/jgahagan_09/semipalmatedplover13.jpg

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice low angle, exposure, and light. I do wish for a bit more eye contact. Image seems a bit over-sharpened, but it could just be me. If your personal ethics allow it, I would remove the little white flecks on the sand.

Well Done!

[Connie Mier]

I agree with Aidan on all accounts. The lighting is very nice and I do like the feather detail. Nice work all around.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Loved the low angle and the natural pose....

[Arthur Morris]

I agree with all the positives mentioned above, but: when photographing preening birds there are generally two requirements if you wish to create a powerful image:

1-the eye of the subject needs to be in plain view.
2-the head of the subject needs to be parallel to the back of the camera.

Neither is the case here. Just being aware of these suggestions can help you create better images the next time that you are in the field.

Sharp and level with a good EXP. Too bad the bird was not standing on top of the little rise so that we could see its feet.