A little gem

[Grace Scalzo]

From my town beach on the Long Island Sound. We started out with 10 chicks, and as of this morning, have 7 juvies. Not bad odds.

Canon 1dmk4, 500 f4 + 2x tele + lowered tripod (flat on ground)
iso800, f8, 1/2000
mac book pro, lr3, cs5 (Beach cleanup, normal PP)

[allanrube]

Nice clean bg. Excellent sharpness - soft feathers and sharpness on top of the head.

Hope they do not grow up too quickly. I hope to spend a few days at Nickerson around 7/12-14.

[Mike Milicia]

Wow, they are growing up fast ... still pretty cute, though!
Great pose and comp with excellent detail!

A touch of fill flash may have been useful to open up the shadows a bit.

[Grace Scalzo]

Thank you, Allan, But not Nickerson. I live in Suffolk County, this is our town beach, on the LI Sound. It is a short drive from where I live, so a green choice for me when considering where to spend a morning or evening.

Mike, help me understand your comment, which shadows? Under the bird's belly? I kind of like that look as I feel it gives depth, but I sure am open to your thoughts.

[gail bisson]

Beautiful shot. all the boxes are ticked-nice low angle, good head angle, nice BG, cuteness factor and nice feather detail. No nits from me!
Gail
I was looking through past winners of the IOTY awards and I must tell you that I really love your winning gull and starfish portrait.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Lovely image, great exp and nicely presented. Nice one Grace

[Mike Milicia]

Mike, help me understand your comment, which shadows? Under the bird's belly? I kind of like that look as I feel it gives depth, but I sure am open to your thoughts.
Hi Grace,
If the sun had been lower in the sky and/or you had been a bit more on light angle, you would have still gotten some shadows for depth but they would have been smaller and less harsh. This would have also eliminated much, if not all, of the deep shadow on the leg and decreased the light falloff toward the tail. In an ideal world, I think this would have improved the image. But given the conditions you had, I was suggesting that a bit of fill flash may have gotten you part of the way there. Basically, everything else about the image was spot on and this was the only potentially constructive feedback I could think of!

[arash_hazeghi]

very cut! i like the environment and low angle

[Alan Murphy]

Very cute. Like the low angle.

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks everyone for commenting. Mike, that is exactly the kind of critique that for me is really helpful and will enable me to improve my images. I see exactly what you are talking about now, I did not before. Thanks again.

[Randy Stout]

Grace:

Lovely little fellow, jumps off the screen with excellent separation from the background, good shooting angle, exposure and framing.

I appreciate Mike's point. I use fill a lot as well. It can be a bit tricky with standing water to avoid getting some unnatural looking highlights, but certainly would have been worth a try.

When shooting my loons, I have the flash mounted all the time, and will often take images both with and without to try and get the best result.

By the way, your starfish image is one of my all time favorites on BPN.

Cheers

Randy

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks for your words on the gull and starfish image, Randy. Also for your confirmation of Mike's observation regarding fill....I need to make a conscious effort to incorporate it more in my setup. I went out this morning early, never intending to stay as long as I did, so left flash stuff the car. Must change that habit.

[Munish Kaushik]

Love the low angle here. Looks very cute.

Regards,
Munish Kaushik
www.munishkaushik.com (http://www.munishkaushik.com/)

[Don Lacy]

Hi Grace, Wonderful little portrait

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very nice and very cute. Techs are spot on, and only the far leg's shadow catches my attention. I find there is alot of room above, you could have a version with some cropped top and left.

[christopher galeski]

good image Grace,like the reflection of the blue sky on the sand,nice low angle,nice detail in the chick.thanks.

[Ofer Levy]

So sweet! Eye looks a bit funny - any selective manipulation on it?

[Chris van Rooyen]

Sweet image Grace, nice low perspective

[Nico Steenberg]

The low angle is a killer. Like the soft light. Subject is well exposed with good natural colours against a killer DOF. Well done !

[Grace Scalzo]

Thanks everyone. Ofer, yep, you are too good. I did lighten the eye as it was totally black. Perhaps I went too far.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Grace,
Eye looks pretty good on this end.......and add the great angle.....works for me all around!