Can you do this?

[Grace Scalzo]

This bird walked right up to me and I was not sure what he (or she) was planning. He stopped, looked at me for a moment, and then struck a pose. Really made me laugh.

1Dmk4, 500f4 + 1.4tc + lowered tripod
1/1250, ISO400, f 5.6
Extensive beach cleanup in PP, slight crop for presentaion

[Ofer Levy]

Great light, exposure control and pose! Maybe it's just my aging eyes but it looks like the critical focus was on the shoulder leaving the head a bit soft. (not surprising considering the open aperture and short distance from the bird.)

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks, Ofer. I used a single focus point right on the eye. I backed off a bit from my usual amount of sharpening as on my photo processing monitor (NEC) it looked too crispy but on my work monitor (that I'm on now) it does look like the head could use a bit more. My eyes are aging too and they are tired! It does appear to me that the beak is beginning to fall out of dof range.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Nice pose and love the low angle. Exposure is spot on , no surprise.:bg3: Nice to see you last night. It was a good evening shoot.

[Mark Itol]

Love it! Great shooting angle, pose, and eye contact. Head looks a little soft to me, too. If not against your processing preferences, might also consider correcting the WB of the shadow?

[Grace Scalzo]

Mark, I have no problem correcting the wb of the shadow (I assume because it looks blue?) if only I knew how. Can you point me in that direction? Thanks for your comments.

[Mark Itol]

Mark, I have no problem correcting the wb of the shadow (I assume because it looks blue?) if only I knew how. Can you point me in that direction? Thanks for your comments.

Yes it looks blue. You can do it by converting the RAW twice using different WB settings and then overlaying and masking the two converted images in PS.

Or, since you already have a processed file, you can 1) create a Levels adjustment layer; 2) mask the layer so that only the shadow will be affected; 3) select the midtone(?) eyedropper in the Adjustments panel; and 4) click on an area that will correct the WB for the shadow.

Those are the two ways I know of. Would be happy to know if others have a better approach. :)

[Grace Scalzo]

Thank you Mark. I will give it a try!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Grace, what a cool pose. Exp, comp, shooting angle...all excellent.

Stopping down would have been better...am sure you also realised it immediately. Agree that the head can take a round of sharpening.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Looks great to me, nice exposure and good pose. A littlel more sharpening would help but not critical for me.
Could I do that? You bet after 4 pints I could do anything:bg3::bg3:

[Katie Rupp]

The previous comments represent my thoughts as well but I have to add that the pose made me laugh when I saw the thumbnail...an interesting behavior came to mind.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Grace, amazing how the OC came up so close to you and performed a stretching pose. Well timed to capture the moment. Im with the others that the head could do with a touch more sharpening.

With regards to the blue of the shadow, the easiest is to select the shadow, and in saturation, desaturate the blue channel.

[Landon Starnes]

Love the pose! A funny and well executed image.

[Nico Steenberg]

Great sharp detail and IQ. Like the pose. Subject is well exposed. Well done !