Purple Sandpiper

[Carolyn Arnesen]

This Purple Sandpiper flew in with a flock of peeps onto the jetty and found a place to rest out of the way of the strong winds. I like the image but am not sure of the placement of the bird. The bird was quick selected and sharpened and a few white spots were brushed out in PS.

EOS 7D 420 (300 + 1.4x) f/8.0 1/1250 ISO 500

All C & C welcome.

Thanks,
Carolyn

[Iain Barker]

Hi Carolyn

I like the rock perch and you composition as well as the birds pose. I think I would crop more from the bottom and right and include more top and left if you have it as the bird is a lttile central. I think this would give you a stronger composition. The exposure and tone look right to me. I do think the head looks slightly soft compared to the body of the bird maybe it need a little more sharpening.

TFS
Iain

[Randall Farhy]

Carolyn, this is a nice capture showing elements of the environment. Agree with Ian re softness on the head, think it's slightly back-focused, note the stone. (local sharps would help bring it in a bit). I also see an overall blue cast, note the shadow in front of the bird and the whites.

[Iain Barker]

Hi Randall, I am not sure focus was out on this if you look at the rock directly behind the bird it looks sharp on the same plane as the head and the bill also looks sharp. Carolyn also mentions strong wind so I wonder if it is just slight movement in the feathers?

[Diane Miller]

Very nice, and not the usual! I might crop a little from the bottom as the shadow almost ends and I want to see all of it or less -- a minor tension point. On my iPhone so can't comment on sharpness.

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Thanks All for your comments and suggestions. I tried cropping some from the bottom & RHS, added some canvas on top, and sharpened the bird. I'm not sure if I corrected the blue cast. Still have much to learn about PS.

[Randall Farhy]

Hi Carolyn, the crop looks much better and you've brought out some nice details on the bird. If you're not using Lightroom, I highly recommend that you consider it.
Ian- I missed Carolyn's comment re: the wind, good point.

Simple WB adjustment in LR5 using the dropper on a gray spot on the breast- +6Y -1R Output sharpened Standard.

[Carolyn Arnesen]

Thanks for your comments and suggestion, Randall. Your changes have definitely improved this image.