Red Knot

[Bill Dix]

Here's a Red Knot, still developing his full breeding plumage, and searching for those tiny Horseshoe Crab eggs that he's flown thousands of miles to feast on. By now he's probably high above the Arctic Circle. Our travels last weekend put us at Reed's Beach right at mid-day, with bright sun. Nothing much we could do about it, but I did my best to mitigate the effects. Used some S/H, dodging and burning on the bird, and lowered the contrast on the BG.

D7000, 700mm, ISO 500, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual, fill flash with BB at -1.3 EV.

[Karl Egressy]

Nice low angle shot and the bird looks great, Bill. The shooting plus PP. did a great job.

[Loi Nguyen]

Bill, given that it was a mid day, I think you did an excellent job with the filled flash. I didn't see any flash effect. The low angle shot works well here. Well done. Loi

[Grace Scalzo]

Nicely done, Bill. Great feeding pose.

[Ian Wilson]

Ditto Loi's comments, nice flash work to get some light on the under parts. All looks good to me. Cheers, Ian

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Good comments above Bill.
This is a good image, you did a great job in post and the bird is sharp and well exposed.

[Diane Miller]

Excellent fill light! The bounce of the sun off the sand was probably some help, too, but maybe not as much as one might assume.

Handsome plumage! Do you have shots with the head up a little?

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the walking posture, and the leg positions. Love the pebbled texture of the ground. You did best you could with the harsh light. With the hunched pose I could see a version with some canvas trimmed off the top.

[Binu John]

Very nice low angle shot of this beautiful bird! I like the exposure and pose!

[Bill Dix]

Excellent fill light! The bounce of the sun off the sand was probably some help, too, but maybe not as much as one might assume.

Handsome plumage! Do you have shots with the head up a little?

Yes, Diane, I got a nice upright walking pose, but the head turn is not quite as good as this one. Perhaps I'll post it at some point.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you everyone. Appreciate the feedback.

[Diane Miller]

Yes, Diane, I got a nice upright walking pose, but the head turn is not quite as good as this one. Perhaps I'll post it at some point.

There are far too many trade-offs in photography! There seems to be a rule, if you want this you have to give up that.... Keeps it a challenge, though!

[Don Nelson]

Nicely done, Bill. The first year breeding population of many Sandpipers don't develop a full breeding plumage, often until their second year.
Great head turn, and I don't mind the foot half-way through a step.
Light bouncing off bright sand (and snow) makes a substantial difference to shadow detail. You did well under the circumstances.
Wish we'd see more of these on the left coast, but only a few get reported every year along the Oregon Coast (and they are one-time wonders, moving northward unless suppressed by a weather front.)

[Bill Dix]

There are far too many trade-offs in photography! There seems to be a rule, if you want this you have to give up that.... Keeps it a challenge, though!

Trade-offs are the rule, as you say; but in this case I didn't think of it as giving up something. I rather liked the intent feeding stance, which somehow seems appropriate when you realize that he's looking for an egg the size of a bit of caviar.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Don.