Piping Plover
It was very windy on the beach yesterday and I found this single piping plover resting in the lee of a pile of debris. He must have been exhausted because he let me get to within 4-5 meters. I'm not sure if the composition works with the large mass next to the subject. 20% crop and sharpened in LR 4. Comments appreciated.
Thanks
Canon 5dMark lll 400mm f/5.6
1/1600 sec @ f/8.0 ISO 400
Hi Ken- I like this. The pile of seaweed is "what it is" and adds the context to the image. For the wall I might want one without the blob. The plover is nice and sharp and I like the pose and head angle. I know Piping Plovers have a washed-out look but I think this one needs a bit of punch. Maybe a slight toning down of the white feathers and an increase in saturation would work.
Ken....I agree that the technical aspects of sharpness and head angle are very good but the composition just doesn't work for me...the large blob just competes too much with your subject. Hope to see more of your work!
Ken,
Lots to like here a great picture, it has a good feel. The composition is good, consider a tighter crop. For example,.. I might remove the dark twig on the right, crop out the blob on the right, crop a small layer from the left and bottom. Balancing the frame is key here and my eye bounces between the negative space on the left and the blob/dark twig on the right hand side.
Agree with John on punch too, consider bumping the mid tones with curves or levels,..keep em coming.
Last edited by Jeff Cashdollar; 09-13-2012 at 01:43 PM.
Thanks for the helpful comments. I was not sure about the composition with the pile of debris either but it was interesting in the context of the bird seeking shelter on a wide open, windy beach. I'll try to rework the shot with your suggestions in mind.
Hello Ken, I really like your rendition of the plover, but like others I think the mass on the right is just too much for the eye. I love the single leg pose and the eye contact, really nice capture of the bird. I can't really offer much advice on the composition, as I think even Photoshop would consider the task of removing the debris to be daunting. Your concept would work better if there were some indicator to show that the wind was blowing hard from the right of frame, but I don't see anything that would suggest that so it makes the composition more difficult to justify. I give you high marks for your concept, but I don't think the image explains it well enough. Please keep them coming, you have a good eye and an analytical mind so I'm looking forward to more from you.
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
Please visit me on the web at http://kerryperkinsphotography.com
Compositionwise I would try a version with a bit more foreground on the bottom and a little less headroom, i.e. shifting the plover up in the frame getting the eye ~ on the upper 1/3 horizontal leaving just a stripe of light above the vegetation and adding real estate in front of the bird. For me this would emphasize the nice low shooting level and being eye to eye with the subject.
For me the chunk of green adds to the image as it breaks the otherwise monotonous gray.
Ulli
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