Just returned from another trip to Mull, Scotland, cut short due to weather, Heres one from a trip in May 2012- 23rd May- waiting for the otters in the last light of day and a pair of oystercatchers turned up. Loads of shots with them turned away from each other but this I feel is the best with them very nearly both having decent head angles.
Pic has been cropped to about 60% of orig. Lightened the exposure and some recovery on the beaks. Sharpened a little in ACR and some noise reduction also. In PSE 10 a little more selective sharpening to the birds and then blur to the BG. Not much else done.
Canon 1D mkIV
Canon 500 f4 is + 1.4 mk11 conv = 700 mil
1/ 1328 , f 7.1, ISO 400.
I like the opposing poses, and soft background. You did well to get enough DOF to cover both birds pretty well, always a challenge in this type of shot.
If it was possible, moving to your right a little would have moved the big rock on the left a bit further to the left so it was not quite so dominant in the frame.
Thanks for comments, will have a go after work tomorrow with a vertical crop and I agree the reds look a little bright now I have viewed the image several times.
Love the colors, subjects, light quality (excellent!), details....
The lichen bits on the rocks are very nice.
In regards to the composition, I would be inclined to center the birds...
Not knowing of course what might have been to left of the bird looking
to the left. I don't find the rock on the left hand side to be dominant in
this presentation at all. I like this horizontal presentation, would just
like to see the birds centered more in the frame.
Nice light, exposure, perch, BG. I like the opposing poses, but I have to admit that I wish the far biird was not there, for this particular placement on the rocks. I also wish its' face was as well it as the front one, but with the light coming a bit from the left that would have been tough with it looking that direction. Still an appealing image, and fun to work with more than one subject!
Hi Ivan, excellent exposure on both OC's, and good to see the opposite poses. Your comp is fine as is, although moving to your right may have given you a better result. I do like the surf BG.