Wilson's Snipe.

Driving along a gravel country road I came across this individual already perched on a post. I maneuvered the car to get the correct early morning light angle, which meant being parked almost perpendicular across the road...luckily it's a road not well travelled and especially so during the very early morning (I did leave enough room for cars to pass by, just in case :S3:). Photographing from inside the car (driver side) gave me an all blue BG as the post was a bit higher than I was and had to point somwehat upwards so after a few test frames I went for it...I got out very slowly from the passenger side and very carefully closed the door (left it ajar), set my rig on the roof of the car all the while praying that this fella would stay put and BINGO.......beautiful BG!! It was quite relaxed and it needed some fair amount of pishing and shoes rubbing on the gravel to get me a perfect head angle. Finally after about 10 minutes a truck passed by quite fast and flushed this guy to the ground in the tall grasses.

Canon 7D + 500mm f/4 II + 1.4TC, manual exposure, evaluative metering, 1/640s., f/8, ISO 400, natural light, lens resting on car roof, some white-wash cleanup on the post (clone tool) which I've also darkened with the burn tool. Eye work (burn pupil). Full-frame.

I love shooting in the early morning light. This is exactly why, beautiful coverage of the subject. Great pose and HA and the BG is killer. Good call to sneak out of the car. Even the weathered post with some green algae growth on it looks great. Very Well Done!

Excellent stalking technique! Someone should sell a gizmo for bird photographers that stalls all the car engines in a 100 yard radius. With electronic ignition these days, wouldn't that be possible?

Daniel I have been following your work for a year now as you had a very similar setup to mine. Quite frankly you are the master with a 7D and a inspiration to all who own one . I must admit there have been times when I have been very unhappy with mine but when I see what you can do with yours I realize it's got to be technique!. How to critique your shot above?
I cannot!....it is stunning!...............keep them coming!!!!!!

This is SUPER sharp Daniel in a very natural way and does not come across over sharpened, so hats off to whatever you did in the field technique wise and with processing. Great image.

Jamie

Funny, the only time I see them are on fence posts for some reason, not exactly where you think they might be!
Nice light, BG and a very cool subject.

Wonderful shot.
The light is just lovely, terrific pose, wonderful background, and great comp.
Well done.

This is awesome Dan! love the light and sharp details!

Super shot Dan, the light is gorgeous, the BG is beautifully blurred! Your meticulous measures to get the shot certainly paid off!

Cannot imagine any way this could be improved....(Okay, it could be vocalizing I suppose:bg3:) Everything is awesome, even the leg/feet positioning. Great character to the fencepost too!

Beautiful image,its got the lot,nice pose light perch and bg,sharp.well done.

Must say i have never seen this species or similar perching on a post...always just on the beach or mud flats.

Lovely pose and light Daniel, hard to find fault..if any...may be an improvement if you caught it jumping through a firey hoop while juggling 5 clam shells :c3:

What a sweet image of this snip on such a beautiful perch with wonderful colors? Daniel Sir.Within whole years of my photography,I had never seen this bird on perch.
Love the colors,superb details,beautiful lights,beautiful BG and composition. Sweet head turn and eye.

Regards,
Satish.

Outstanding image, Daniel! How extremely fortunate you were to find one out in the open like this! I always need to wait for them to come out of high grass. Excellent techs and gorgeous background!

Oh Daniel, this is an inspirational image! nice to read how you manage to shoot this bird! the light, BG and details are superb! One of my favorites of yours!

A great image and good field craft to get the BKGR you preferred. Nicely done.