Oyster Catcher

[John Rowell]

Captured at Ft. DeSoto North Beach last Sunday. Although it was pretty quiet, there was a mixed flock of Willetts, a Curlew or two, the inevitable gulls and a pair of Oyster Catchers. I was pretty happy to be able to get close enough for some shots as they were my first Oyster Catcher photos. At least now I have something to add to my files.

Nikon D4, 600mm, tripod mounted, 1/1000 sec @ f4, auto iso at 125. This is about a 50% crop (need to work on still getting closer or replacing the 1.4 extender I managed to lose a few months back), Lightroom adjustments to increase shadows and slightly lower highlights, some clarity and vibrance, selective sharpening to eye and bill as well as noise reduction.

[Marina Scarr]

Glad to see you made it down to my neck of the woods. Not only is FD one of my favorite places to photograph but this pair of oystercatchers has been one of my favorite subjects! SO glad you were able to find and photograph them.

You did a good job with your exposure in less than great light angle. You did a good job getting low and the bird has a nice leg up pose. If I didn't already know you had given this a 50% crop, I would suggest a tighter crop. Looking forward to more images from your trip!

[Mike Landwehr]

John, I always love the orange bill and yellow eye on the Oystercatchers. You have a nice sharp image in early morning light (I assume). And the low perspective is great. A better sun angle would have been a big bonus. If it were mine, I'd experiment with a 10-15% crop off the bottom edge to go more panoramic.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is a fun species to photograph. Tough exposure challenge, the light angle and light quality you had is difficult to make look pleasing and that is the main issue with the image. You did get yourself placed at a good low angle, and I love the foot rising but still submerged in the water.

[arash_hazeghi]

nice low angle and details, I wish the sun was behind you

[Arthur Morris]

Welcome and see you there at some point. Rule #1: point your shadow at the bird....

[John Rowell]

Thank you all for your comments, they are appreciated.