Toothsome SANDPIPER among the whites

[Jack Breakfast]

Greetings! This picture was taken last autumn but I've just now re-found it! This is a solitary sandpiper, is it not?
Anyhow, it was taken on the last day I owned my Nikon before I switched to Canon. I'm still not sure I did the right thing, but that's neither here nor there. I want so much to embrace the Canon side of things...I keep trying...
D90, the beautiful 180mm f2.8, iso320, 1/800, f4.
Cropped, obviously, and a slight levels tweak, but otherwise left alone. Thanks kindly for your consideration, and all the best to you all...
109346

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jack, I like the high key in this, together with the gradual curve of the pond. You have captured a great reflection too. Comp wise, I would move the bird back to the left thirds, and maybe take off top and bottom. Could you have moved to your right to have captured him parallel to you - seems like he was half asleep anyway. :w3

[Stuart Hill]

Like the image as its almost graphical. I know rules are to be broken but would having the bird on the left have made the image even better?

kind regards.
Stu.

[Jack Breakfast]

A-ha! Got you! Having the bird on the left would be fine but the water I cropped out was green...nothing wrong with green water but I liked the look of the whites, everywhere whites...
Thanks for the comments, folks.

[Paul Guris]

Jack, love the shot. Has a great feel to it. And yes, it's a Solitary Sandpiper.

[Marina Scarr]

Like the look you were going for here but doesn't quite do it for me. I wish the reflection didn't have the green cast, although I understand from what you are saying that the water was green. I like the pipe it is resting on. You need some CW rotation on this image. The beak on your bird should line up exactly to its reflection.

[Jack Breakfast]

Paul, many thanks, glad you like it. Marina I appreciate your comments as well...different strokes indeed...

[Mark Itol]

A nice image, Jack. I like how you used the curve for composition.

Like the others, I would love to see the bird on the left side and with less room at the top and bottom.

[Jack Breakfast]

Hello folks,
I certainly appreciate your comments and I see the logic to having the bird on the left side. I'm quite happy with the image as is, but figured I would try a different crop as well, taking into account some of your very good suggestions. You'll notice the green water, which of course could be cloned out. To be honest, I'm not a great fan of altering images beyond "slight tweaking" but again, there's no accounting for taste...I'd be curious to hear what you might have to say about the repost? To your taste, is it on the right track? Would you eliminate the green at the image's right? Thanks kindly for your consideration...
109411

[Paul Guris]

I like the re-post more. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but there's something I really like about the green smear in the upper right that balances nicely with the greenish reflection of the bird and the edge.

[Jack Breakfast]

Me too, Paul, and thanks. I'd love to add this: I showed some folks' comments to my little birdwife (who is far smarter than I) and I asked her: "People keep saying the bird should be on the left, but why? Isn't it fine as it is?" She answered: "Of course it's fine as it is but if you're looking for the reason why people want the bird on the left it's because the bird is facing right and should have space on its right to move into, so to speak." "Bah!" I said, "my way you see where bird was coming from, and what's wrong with that, Mrs. Rules?" She had nothing to say to that, obviously, but I could tell what she was thinking: "Not only are you wrong, but you're living in the past and time is running out."

[Mark Itol]

Hi John. Composition-wise, I prefer the repost over the original. Now that we see that green thing, I can understand why you composed it that way you did in the original. I too, am not a fan of major digital surgery, and for me cloning out that green on the right is major. You've got a good amount of room around the bird, so maybe you can crop tighter so as not to include the green (although as you mentioned, this one's a major crop already).

[Jack Breakfast]

Thanks Mark, that's certainly a possibility. Of course that might leave me with a square-like shape and for reasons unbeknownst to me there are many aesthetes on this fine forum who despise such shapes. I'm still waiting to find out why...

[Mark Itol]

Hi John. Composition-wise, ...
My bad, it should have been Jack. Sorry. Must have been from not having my lunch on time. :bg3:

[Jack Breakfast]

Never you worry! John & Jack are the same name anyway!