Early morning Willet

[Jeff Dyck]

Another shot from Oak Hammock Marsh (near Stonewall, Manitoba) taken right after sunrise.

Processing the image was a bit of a white-balance conundrum. Does the bird look too warm? I debated cloning out the bubbles on the right edge of the frame, but thought the image looked better with them.

There was a bit of discussion on the ID here - it looked like a Willet, but the yellowish legs were throwing us off (and suggested possibly a Greater Yellowlegs). I have since discussed it with a few people and am convinced this is a Willet.

Canon 5DII -- Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS -- f/6.3 @ 1/500s -- ISO400 -- Manual Exposure

93587

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice low angle and details I have mixed feeling about the reflection as it is not crystal clear but overal a very attractive shot.

[John Guastella]

Agree with Arash about the reflection - perhaps you could try another round of sharpening on it? Other than that, very nice image. I especially like the how the blue of the distant water matches the blue water ripples surrounding the bird's stationery leg.

John

[RakeshDhareshwar]

Love the DOF and the angle here . Would have cloned the small rocks ? just behind the legs .

[Robert Holguin]

Real nice shot. Great light with a fabulous pose. Great detail and lovely background. Well done.

[Stu Bowie]

Good angle and walking pose Jeff - love the raised leg. I like the reflection as is, and would only remove the darker spots in the water. Lovely blues of the water.

[Vivaldo Damilano]

Excellent low angle and reflection adds IMO. I like the warm colours of the bird and also the blues of the water TFS:cheers:

[Bill Jobes]

Excellent walking action, comp and color.
The reflection looks fine and natural to me. After all, it is a refection, and they're rarely, if ever, as sharp as the principal target.
Add to the fact that the reflected image is significantly closer to the plane, softness is to be expected.
The color of the bird is the product of the 'warm' very early light, as it would be in very late light.
It appears to me that you accurately captured the state of the bird at the moment of exposure.
Can't ask for much more than that !:S3:

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Shooting angle is excellent with the head and body against the blue....so much easier said than done. You did it well. Loved the walking pose and calm water. If it fits your ethics, then yes to cloning the spots and bubbles.

Compositionally, I prefer more room above the bird than there is below the reflection. But that might be personal preference...you can play around and go with what you like.

WB is always difficult in such warm light with blue BG. If you make use cooler WB, the water will look unnatural blue....so I dont think that is the right thing to do. I'd use neutral picture style,keep color sat at 0, then adjust the WB using color temp and then again adjust the color sat to your liking....since you know how it looked then, you will be the best judge. I guess there are many ways to process this.

[Jim Crosswell]

Nice image Jeff! I like the low angle, lighting and details.

[Hendri Venter]

The reflection, angle and colours makes this is special image. Well done. Truly beautiful.