Keeping Connected: Piping Plover Parent and Chick

[Melissa Groo]

Canon 1D Mark IV
500mm +1.4x
Skimmer Pod
Lying flat on beach

ISO 1000
1/640 sec
f/5.6

Another newly worked image from the archives of the summer of 2012, when I took Mike Milicia's workshop focused on Piping Plovers and Least Terns on the northern MA shore. I really liked how the feathers from the parent are still embracing the chick, who has just emerged from being underneath. You can see the brood patch a bit here.
I blurred some of the debris a bit that lay behind them, as I found it distracting. Some crop all around, performed several rounds of NR, sharpened.
Thanks for looking and for any comments/critiques.

[Sandy Witvoet]

Totally sweet! Beautiful background and especially parent/chick togetherness!

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely, intimate moment captured here and great peak of the brood patch. Super feather details, although possibly a tad oversharpened. Not sure how much of a crop this image is as presented, but I just took it into PS and cropped from all sides, esp L & R. The focus of this image is squarely on the intimacy and the amazing feather details of this pair. I don't feel as though this particular environment adds much. I would therefore go tighter if it were mine.

[Melissa Groo]

Thank you Sandy and Marina. Marina, I cropped a bit more and also backed off the sharpening just a touch. Let me know if you think this works better?

[Martin Dunn]

terrific capture Melissa.
I do prefer the repost.
The feather detail on both is exceptional and the colours all come together to create a beautiful gentle scene.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I prefer the original by far, very nice detail and excellent exposure. I think the repost is too big in the frame and it is beginning to show noise which is much less apparent. I would suggest a small amount of NR on the subject in the first, in addition to what you applied elsewhere followed by the sharpening regime you applied originally.

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks Jonathan. I was a little worried about the noise showing up in the RP, as I didn't run any NR on the birds at all, not wanting to lose that delicate feather detail.

[Frank Schauf]

Great scene and setting you have here.

[Marina Scarr]

This is my crop choice which is close to your RP but a little more on each side.

[Melissa Groo]

Thanks Marina. I think you found the perfect comp. Appreciate your time and expert eye.

[Nick Palmieri]

Beautiful image. love the feathers. Re-crop(s) work well.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent moment captured. Beautiful poses, colors, details and composition. Re post looks wonderful.

Regards,
Satish.

[Chris Martinez]

HI Melissa,

Blurring of the background is quite obvious as presented and is let down by the halo around the entirety of the youngster's legs and also from the crown right the way round to the ventral area of the adult.
The little patch of sand the bird is standing on also looks odd IMO.
Your work is always of such a high calibre but this image is stands alone as a bit out of the ordinary.
I hope you're not offended by these comments. I mean absolutely no disrespect. I always enjoy and admire your work this presentation is not up to your high standard.
Also I haven't participated on BPN for quite some time so I don't mean to ruffle anyones' feathers.

Kind regards

Chris

[Melissa Groo]

Chris, astute observations like yours are why I keep posting on BPN. Thank you for the critique. I see what you mean, particularly about the sand the adult is standing on. Great catch. I will fix that on my version at home. And thank you for your kind words on my work.