There is only so much I can milk out of this subject (which has been basically the only subject I've worked the past 3 weeks), but here's another compositional option to consider when dealing with a cooperative subject: veticals. Once it turned its' back to me I tried getting closer for FF vertical as it slept with its' face towards me most of that time. It worked, and for this image I simply lightly tapped my shoe on the hard ground to get it to raise its' head momentarily. After this image I went all out and went for FF head-and shoulder portraits...that will be fo the final posting of this fella coming soon
Excellent over-the-shoulder pose. Good feather detail in the fine feathers around the head/neck.
I'm not a fan of the OOF brown grass in front of the left foot. I like the green OOF in front of the right side and wished it was duplicated on the left side.
I might also be tempted to trim just a little of the sky off the top (a sliver, not much) but it looks fine as is.
After reading Artie's blog about your work, I am amazed at how much you get out of the 100-400. Great work all-around!
This is a lovely shot with the over the shoulder look. How nice to have such a cooperative subject. Surprisingly good dof at 7.1, considering how close you were, but with the clear bg, I suppose you could have stopped down to get the tail in better focus.
Lovely details and super sharpness, Daniel. The sand dune and FG colors add a lot to this image.
I also enjoyed reading Artie's blog about your work. While the 100-400 isn't my only lens, I love it and use it almost exclusively for wildlife photography. I also plan on testing out your sharpening technique.
Hi Daniel,
First, I enjoyed your article. Thanks for that.
I like the over the shoulder look. I am not liking the OOF grasses on the left.
The DOF is pretty darn good for 7.1,
Gail
I like everything, the all important eye is there to be seen plain and clear and I quite like the OOF grasses, a little hint of the environment often lifts the image in my view.
Ditto all the positives above. A bit more d-o-f for the primary tips would not have hurt....
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