Spoonie on patrol

[Randy Stout]

Just back from a few days in Florida. Had the pleasure of going out with James Shadle on the Hooptie Deux for a morning of spoonie photography. It was cold, and windy, with small craft warnings out, but the spoonies were on the leeward side of an island, and seemed quite content to stay home.

Always a pleasure to see them up close.

D300 500mmf/4 f/7.1 1/2500s ISO 320 tripod.
90% of original frame
Selective sharpening in PS.

Advice always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Arthur Morris]

Love the raised foot and the bird angling towards you. Once I tilted the screen away and checked the calibration strip, the detail in the whites looks perfect.

[Fabs Forns]

Excellent definition and great rendition of the breeding colors. I especially like the pink plumes in the chest. If this were mine, I'd put back the 10% you took off, unless it is in the wrong places.

Great eye contact. You wouldn't happen to be wearing that pink vest of yours???? :p

[Harshad Barve]

Randy
I am loving that red eye and raised fot very much here , excellent image
TFS

[Grace Scalzo]

I always enjoy your images Randy as they often contain subtleties that add a little extra, in this case the reflection of the bird in the upper right corner. I could see a bit more room up top if you have it.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone.

I will check the original file tonight. Most of the crop came from the left side, but obviously could add a bit of canvas here easily.

Grace:

I had about 10 images of this guy strolling across in front of me, some perfectly clean backgrounds, but felt that the reflection of the other bird in the RUC tied the subject to the background a bit more.

Cheers

Randy

[Deborah Hanson]

Just as everyone above has commented, the detail, eye contact, sharpness, and color are wonderful.
The first thing that I notice with this image is the eye, which then draws the viewer into the photo. Is that from the correct crop (I struggle with cropping) or just because its such a beautifully done photograph?

Deb

[Randy Stout]

Deborah:

I would like to claim credit here, but really this spoonie had a great eye, the light was fine. The darker background helps it jump out, plus he is looking right at me.

The crop is a bit tight for some folks taste. I could see adding in a little bit more room for him. I do think it helps push ones attention towards the eye as is, but the most important thing here was the good subject to work with.

Cheers

Randy

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Randy....great eye contact here. Loved the raised foot and as others have said, the pink reflection is beautiful. Nice natural contrast that helps it pop.

[Gary Esman]

Randy-

Love it, great job, glad you got the opportunity!