Lesser Yellowlegs reflection.

Reflection images are always nice to get. For shorebirds you need the perfect combination of shallow water and no wind. No other debris or distractions in the water is a nice bonus, such as here. Instead of of lying down on my stomach, I stayed higher in a crouching position to give me a better view of the reflection. It is also good discipline, if the situation permits, to flip the camera to vertical at time of capture when anticipating such a composition rather than cropping from horizontal during post-processing.

Canon 40D + 100-400L @400mm, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/250s., f/7.1, ISO 800, +1.3 EC, natural light, handheld, full-frame left to right.

Daniel, this is indeed a very nice reflection shot. The bird looking down is great as that is keeping the viewer's eyes inside the frame to appreciate the reflection. Nice color in the calm water. Raised foot and ripples add that extra something that separates it from the norm.

Hi Dan, I like the soft light, and pose with the raised leg. Yep, you couldnt have asked for better conditions to show the reflection, and good choice of comp too.

Sweet image! In addition to the comments above, I also particularly like how the legs form the three staggered rectangular shapes adding some geometric interest to the image. The angle of the bill(s) is perfect for this shot also.

Now that's a nice reflection. And good pose, head angle. Great advice to compose in portrait mode when possible - something I need to be more conscious of in the field.

Daniel, The reflection makes it look like art with the legs bent. Beautiful reflection and nice pose.

What can I say? Love your work, Daniel. Raised leg and reflection make it special. Full frame..great composition. Congrats.

Daniel:

Very nice image, with extra interest from the leg position creating the shapes as mentioned by Jim.
Good teaching points as well. We often obsess about a low shooting angle, which is generally good, but does distort and elongate the reflection. And yes, I believe you once mentioned to me on an IPT long ago about the vertical orientation at times!

Cheers

Randy

Excellent image! Great pose, water, soft light, and reflection ... all captured perfectly!

Might like to see the bird just a bit further right in the frame.
Also, with a mirror reflection like this and a uniform background, I sometimes like to emphasize to the symmetry even more by having the same amount of space above the bird as below the reflection, i.e. bird plus reflection centered vertically in the frame. Probably not for everyone, though ... try it and see what you think.

Lovely capture Daniel!! I love the refection and soft colors!

The reflection, ripples, and lack of horizon put it over the top Daniel. I wish it could be a touch sharper and a little better eye contact. Was there any crop made to the vertical position?

Quote:

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Was there any crop made to the vertical position?

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Thanks Art, this is about 85% full-frame, original vertical with equal parts cropped top and bottom.

Hi Daniel,
Good description & excellent Reflection. I like the soft light & raised leg. Thanks