Post 500: Wagtail in Flight

[Craig Brelsford]

I'm just a mighty mite compared to some of you BPN veterans, but here I am at not even six months in and already racking up my 500th post. BPN has changed the way I shoot by providing an online photographic clinic and by giving me standards to aim for--those standards being the amazing shots that I view day after day here. When I'm out shooting, I'm continually asking myself, "How can I make this a shot worthy of BPN?" For my minor milestone, I've chosen a picture taken just today. It's among my most technically complex shots yet and bears the marks of my BPN training. I shot this white wagtail on a cool, sunny afternoon at a park in Shanghai. It took two hours of pretty much solid failures before I achieved this image. Making the shot even more special is the subspecies of my wagtail. It is a Motacilla alba lugens, which is less common in this part of China than the predominant subspecies leucopsis.

Device: Nikon D3S
Lens: VR 600mm F/4G
Focal length: 600mm
VR: OFF
Aperture: F/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/5000
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Center-Weighted
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 2500
Photoshoppery: A little stick seemed to be poking my birdie in the belly; I excised it. Noise reduction everywhere except on the wagtail.

[Daniel Cadieux]

A super photo to celebrate your 500 post milestone! Good exposure and very sharp. I like the chosen crop with the water and vegetation below. Although it may take a bit of detail work to look seamless, I'd look into eliminating the OOF vertical stems as I find they block the horizontal flow of the top half of the composition.

***Craig, thank you very much for being a great member of the BPN family. I've enjoyed discovering new birds (and subspecies such as here) from your images, and all of your text and critiques have been fun to read. Keep it up!:)

[Bill Dix]

Congrats on the 500th post. This is a terrific flight shot; sharp with great wing position and head angle. Ditto Daniel's comments about the bg - the oof stem in front of the bird's far wing in particular, and perhaps some other cleanup. Given the nicely blurred water background, it might not be too difficult to clone out all of the orange vegetation in the upper half.

[Stu Bowie]

Craig, congrats on your first milestone of 500 posts. Im sure you will go on to many, many more.

Your Wagtail - tack sharp, with a great flying posture. I like the slight angle of flight towards you, together with lots of space to fly into. Interesting texture to the water too.

[Randy Stout]

Craig:

Congrats on your milestone and progress.

Very good flight image, would agree about removing some of the OOF stems, esp. the one in front of the rear wing. Nice exposure. I think the head could stand a bit more sharpening.

Thanks for bringing us images from China.

Cheers

Randy

[Chris Martinez]

I like the pose(full wing extension and dangly legs), head angle and eye contact. I agree a little work on the BG would make this already capture a fantastic photograph.

[Rohan Kamath]

Very nice exposure and superb freeze. The HA and wing position are perfect too. I agree with everyone's comments on cleaning up the BG a little. Congrats on the 500.
:)


-Regards,
Rohan
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