American Oystercatcher

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Yesterday very early morning, as Bill has filled you in on our quite fulfilling trip out to the Sandy Hook, despite no Oystercatcher, Tern, or Plover chicks. There were a pair of very cooperative Oystercatchers who gave us a relatively close encounter as they foraged on the shore edge. As Bill mentioned, the area now known as "The Rail Yard", is quite a magnificent marsh. It was my first experience seeing and photographing a Clapper Rail, and they were very quite when we first arrived, so much so we thought we might try another spot. As we started to pack up, one spoke and proceeded to emerge from the reeds. They also were quite calm around us. I left the little white feather on the lower bill of the Oystercatcher because it stuck after grooming. All C&C welcome.

D700, 500mm + 1.4x tc, 1/640, f7.1, fill @ -3.0 EV, Gitzo tripod, Wimberley Gimbal head.





Geoffrey

[Daniel Cadieux]

Nice low angle, and I love the shells strewn upon the beach. Good pose by the oystercatcher. If it was more obvious it was preening I'd leave that little feather in but as is I'd personally take it out...just a preference and I'm sure others will like it. Not sure if the ground was slanted or not, but with the lines in the water also slanted in the same direction I'd consider some CCW rotation to see if that helps. Lastly I would deepen the blacks and perhaps less so the midtones as they seem a tad washed out as posted (it's a well exposed image, just needs a bity of punch). Sounds like you had a great time, looking forward to more!

[Alan Murphy]

Nice pose and comp. Adding black to the mid tones will help here.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks Daniel and Alan. Daniel I did think about removing the feather on the beak, but kind of liked it. Not only was the ground slanted, it's also a very tight curve in the shoreline. I see your point, and it may be a stretch, but I felt the slant added a bit of interest. Thank you both for suggesting adding black to the mid tones. I added 10% black. Here's a repost.

[arash_hazeghi]

Great pose and low angle, repost improves the contrast a bit I would also try to sharpen him a bit more

TFS

[gail bisson]

As soon as I saw this I thought it needed a bit of "oomph" in the blacks and your repost has addressed this issue well.
Lovely pose. I like the broken shells at the OC's feet.
I am on the fence about the feather and could see this image with and without it.
Gail

[MiroslavMaric]

Great light and natural colors. Like the pose, eye contact and remains of shells near the bird. Well done, cheers! Miro

[Bill Dix]

Good one, Geoffrey. You must have gotten this while I was walking down the beach looking for Terns. The repost is a big help with the blacks. I'm OK with the feather, although it would be just as nice without it. My first reaction was that it needed CCW rotation. I've faced this dilemma many times; if you're not shooting exactly perpendicular to the shoreline, or if the ground is sloped, it looks like it needs rotation even if it is accurately portrayed. In this case, I wonder if it would be a more compelling image with rotation to 'apparent level', even if inaccurate? Personal preference. (Or maybe it would make the bird look like he's falling over?)

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Thanks Arash, Gail, Miroslav, and Bill.




Geoffrey

[John Robinson]

Second post for me. - perhaps even a tiny bit more "punch"
Like the head turn pose.
JohnR