American Avocet

[wendell westfall]

D90 70-200VR+2X@260 1/1000 f5.6 ISO400 0EV handheld

Early today I found this guy sweeping his bill back and forth in the shallow water. They work hard, and almost constantly, for food. The crop of 50% and the sharpening, with minor tweaks, was done in LR2, and I ran NR twice in PS Elements. C&C appreciated.

Wendell

[Gerald Kelberg]

Hi Wendell,
That is a nice shot! Sharp with plenty of good detail in the plumage. The pose is very characteristic and you get the feeling of him moving with the uplifted leg - dynamic pose. Beak looks a bit soft - probably because of the head angle. Nice textures in the water - maybe you could crop a little tighter on the top, even as low as that dark wave across the middle.

Best regards,

Gerald

[Peter Farrell]

Very nice, Wendell. Great walking pose, nice colors. I agree with a crop from the top.
Peter

[Ray Rozema]

Color and exposure looks good. The tip of the bill OOF maybe due to it being out DOF. I would think the SS would have been fast enough to freeze it. Agree little crop of top and maybe add just a little to the bottom.

TFS

[Don Hamilton Jr.]

Agree, looks to be slightly short on the bottom, and abit more than needed, on the top. I think the softer bill, is related to DOF, as 1/1000 should cover the motion.
TFS
Don

[Lance Peters]

hI WENDELL - Bill does look like movement blur to my eyes - remember the closer you are the faster the shutter speed required to freeze movement and vise versa - 1/100th possible not enough if you were close.
Would consider adding a catchlight to the eye.
Keep em coming :)

[Dave Mills]

Hi Wendell, Good comments above. Could either be a movement blur or DOF issue why the beak is soft. Might have tried for a lower angle also....