Bar-tailed Godwit

This guy is coughing up a Soldier Crab. I'm guessing s\he swallowed feet first :p
Today was my first day using my new low to the ground camera mount. Very stable on the mud/sand flats.
1D MKIV, 600mm IS, 1.4x II

ISO 800
f/10
1/1600
0ev

Nice low angle. I would consider cropping out a little more of the oof foreground.

Is this a diy ground camera mount or a manufactured one. Are you still mounting on a gimbal? It would be good to hear details.

Well it's a Ground Skimmer Pod II and I've simply added a wimberley quick release clamp to the screw mount. On the sand flats it worked a treat but I'm going to have to purchase a little level to stick on the hot shoe bracket as upon review most of my images were a little askew. Stability was exceptional on the wet sand.

Hope this helps :D

Chris:

Indeed a low angle, but I do agree with Ben about cropping out some the out of focus foreground. It is always a juggling act when shooting so low, to get the right balance of foreground in the image. I think this one would present well with about 75% of the OOF removed.

The bird doesn't look like he is having a lot of fun there. Sharp, well exposed.

I like the skimmer as well. Really nice on sand because its shape tends to keep the sand away from the mount/camera, as opposed to some of the more open designs. Some folks just use a frisbee and slip it under some sort of clamp arrangement.

I have used the Wimberley on the skimmer, and it can work well. Lot depends on the height it holds the viewfinder above the ground, and whether you can comfortably look through the finder.

Cheers

Randy

Nice low angle, even lighting, and colors. I agree with the others about the crop. Interesting to see how they swallow their food.

Keep them coming!

Poor thing, not its best moment eh. Great shot

Tim

Thanks very much for the comments and the suggestions.
Perhaps this is more along the lines of what you were after?

Hi Chris, Your crop is just a bit too much for my taste..... Cropping about 1/2 of what's there on the bottom would have yielded better compositional balance. I like the soft light and the low angle. And I wish that the bird's eye were fully open.

Thank you very much for the comment Arthur! I'm a bit hit and miss with my cropping. I appreciate your consideration immensely. Here's another attempt. Third time lucky...... maybe?

Does anyone prefer the original with a bit of sky or the edited BG? Thoughts would be most graciously accepted :D

I do like the original as is Chris with maybe a bit of the FG taken off. Looks like this guy is really trying to cough it up. You got any more shots? Well done mate, open eye would be better as mentioned. :)

Akos, my next shot was of the crab bouncing of the sand. This is my fave of the series due to the quirk factor. Thanks for the feedback on the BG.

YAW :) Here is my seat of the pants gut reaction crop.... A bit off the top about 1/2 off the bottom. Looks like lots of fifths....

Thanks, Arthur!:D I truly appreciate thoughts on the framing.