Snowy Plover and Shell [Archive] - BirdPhotographers.net

gail bisson

03-01-2012, 06:12 AM

Canon 1D MK IV
f 500 and 1.4x converter
ISO 640
SS 1/320
f 5.6
Full frame but had to rotate it so added canvas on left hand side -about 5 %. Cloned out a green band on leg as well.
PP in Lr3 and CS5.
Taken on Sanibel during Artie's workshop at 6:00PM
I am not sure about this shot and would welcome your thoughts. Is the shell overwhelming the bird?
Gail

Doug West

03-01-2012, 06:33 AM

I don't think so.

I think with both the shell and the plover almost the same size it keeps my eyes moving...shell, bird...bird,shell.

Even if the shell was bigger (taller), it might still work cause you'd have the extreme between the size of the two
subjects.

If the shell was longer, not to sure.

Doug

Mark Itol

03-01-2012, 07:18 AM

I like it, Gail. Love the shooting angle and the catchlight. The large shell makes it look as if the bird just finished its meal. :)

I do find the very fine feathers on the wings a tad oversharpened, and the foreground shells (or stones?) a little attention-drawing. I wonder if shooting a little higher would have made them less distracting.

Karl Egressy

03-01-2012, 08:23 AM

You should be sure about this sot Gail; it is beautiful.
The low angle created magic here.
The shell adds a lot to the comp.

bhavya joshi

03-01-2012, 09:48 AM

I am Thinking if you were Little Higher just a bit than the leg of bird and front part of shell comes clear.

due to white spot in ground, its cloned some parts of leg and shell.

overall this is cutey bird and Good shot.

Grace Scalzo

03-01-2012, 10:08 AM

For me, the shooting angle here is too low. This has happened to me too.

Jack Breakfast

03-01-2012, 10:18 AM

The light and color and detail are beautiful, almost magical. Low angles are not always a friend to us, as evidenced here. To my taste, the OOF bits beneath the bird aren't quite as distracting as the OOF bits beneath the shell.

Stu Bowie

03-01-2012, 10:18 AM

Hi Gail, love the soft light, pose and HA from the plover. With regards to the sharpening, I feel you have it spot on. Yes there are a few very small areas mentioned by Mark, but nothing to spoil the plumage. Your low angle works well, and I dont believe going higher would have worked, I assume it would have shown more of the pebbles in the BG. I would add a touch more to the RHS. With regards to the shell, I feel its too close and too large to the plover to work in this. Maybe I will be the only one to worry about it. :w3

jack williamson

03-01-2012, 11:19 AM

Nice soft light, nice exp., sharpness looks good to me, the Bg is awesome. I can't decide about the shell but the oof FG seems to end abruptly right under the birds' feet.

Jack

Frank Schauf

03-01-2012, 11:55 AM

WOW, great picture, nice deep shooting position in front of a perfect backdground.

Robert Holguin

03-01-2012, 01:16 PM

Real nice shot. Love the pose and background. I think just a sliver higher angle to be able to view the feet would have been nice. I personally like the shell gives me a sense of its habitat, and very nice soft light.
Very well done.

Ron Sprunger

03-01-2012, 01:45 PM

There's a wonderful softness and glow to this shot. I love it. The size of the shell doesn't bother me, but I wish for a little more on the right -- or maybe crop out 1/3 to 1/2 the distance from top of head to upper edge for a more pano look. What a wonderful image!

Marina Scarr

03-01-2012, 08:26 PM

First off, this is a very fine capture. The light is awesome with nice exposure and details. I like what you were going for. I find the right side too tight and I agree with Grace that had you been a few inches higher, it may have helped here. I like seeing the SNPL next to the shell for comparison. I also like how the inside of the shell is glistening. There are a lot of fine elements to this capture.

Troy Lim

03-01-2012, 10:33 PM

Love the shot overall, great exposure, composition etc.
Agree with Marina on the right side being just a bit tight.

arash_hazeghi

03-02-2012, 12:08 AM

cute bird and a nice pose, for this one I would have gone slightly higher to show the feet and avoid the OOF stuff in the FG. sharp and nice eye contact

gail bisson

03-02-2012, 05:48 AM

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I do have a shot of this plover where I am a bit higher but the BG consists of pebbles in the sand and I completely lost that gorgeous teal blue BG. It is so much fun to see all of our different, constructive and helpful opinions.
BPN is great!
I won't send this image to the delete folder yet and will tag it as lesson learned ie. get the feet in and less FG!
Gail

Arthur Morris

03-02-2012, 06:16 AM

artie who? I am posting here before reading all the comments above. A super view of the unbanded bird :). Dead solid perfect head angle and a nice basic image design. A bit wider would have worked very well for me. Is this a crop??? The two o-o-f shells in front of the horse mussel distract... I do love the compositional balance.

gail bisson

03-02-2012, 06:29 AM

artie who? I am posting here before reading all the comments above. A super view of the unbanded bird :). Dead solid perfect head angle and a nice basic image design. A bit wider would have worked very well for me. Is this a crop??? The two o-o-f shells in front of the horse mussel distract... I do love the compositional balance.
Hi Artie,
I had to rotate the image about 3 degrees so lost a bit of canvas but basically 90% of frame. I was level but the beach slopped upward a bit and was distracting so I leveled the beach.Hope you are having a blast in Japan,
Gail
PS I am hooked on detail Extractor for my bald eagle shots. Thank you so much for putting me on to this!!

Kaustubh Deshpande

03-02-2012, 04:49 PM

Gail, I also lose stuff to rotation many times.

loved this one a lot. I dont mind trading feet for BG :-) I'd have done the same here. great light and soft details.

Arthur Morris

03-03-2012, 05:39 AM

Hi Artie,
I had to rotate the image about 3 degrees so lost a bit of canvas but basically 90% of frame. I was level but the beach slopped upward a bit and was distracting so I leveled the beach.Hope you are having a blast in Japan, Gail PS I am hooked on detail Extractor for my bald eagle shots. Thank you so much for putting me on to this!!

Thanks. We are still killing. Needed rotation? That's why God created double bubbles (https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=5). The lower you get the harder it is to get square to the world without a level.