Masked Lapwing preening in early morning light

[Ian Wilson]

Masked Lapwing was formerly known as Spur-winged Plover on account of the spur on the wing which can be seen in this image taken at, Lake Curalo, Eden, NSW, 19 February 2014. The birds nest in open grassland and ferociously attack intruders by stooping at high speed while emitting a loud staccato alarm call. Some boys and pet dogs of our acquaintance had bloody encounters when approaching too close.

Canon 5DIII + 600 mm f/4L II + 1.4x III extender, Gitzo 3532LS, Kirkphoto King Cobra gimbal.
Aperture priority with spot metering on the bird, f/7.1, 1/1000 sec, ISO 500, Auto WB.
Processed in DPP4: adjust brightness (-0.67), gamma, shad/h'lights, luminance NR (0), chrominance NR (2), sharpness (3), RAW-TIFF. PS Elements: select bird, remove distraction from centre left, background NR to reduce file size, crop, downsize, sharpen bird, TIFF-JPEG.

Thanks for looking, critical feedback welcome.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Ian, very nice indeed, great PP on this, with exquisite detail, love the mirror reflection. I just wonder if it would look better if the blue below was equal to the top and the FG 'sand' was lost, WDYT?

TFS
Steve

[Ian Wilson]

Hi Ian, very nice indeed, great PP on this, with exquisite detail, love the mirror reflection. I just wonder if it would look better if the blue below was equal to the top and the FG 'sand' was lost, WDYT?

TFS
Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your positive feedback. I tried a version without the sandy foreshore but it looked a bit surreal without some part of the scene to give a hint of the scale and the environment. I think it is because the mirror is so good - had there been a bit of a ripple there would be no need to 'anchor' the frame to the shore as the ripples would have made the context obvious. Regards, Ian.

[keith mitchell]

Ian clean sharp and beautiful, love the reflection, think I like it even better without the sand, will look forward to reading the views of others on this point.

Cheers Keith.

[Steve Kaluski]

No worries Ian, it was just a thought.

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks Steve and Keith. In this version I have removed the sandy shoreline and, on further consideration, I think you have a good point. I would be glad to have some other opinions on this matter. Regards, Ian.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I much prefer it without the sand at bottom. Excellent pose and details, nice soft light which I like even if it is on the opposite side of the face. Personally I'd prefer the subject a bit more towards the left (just switching the current distances to the edges left and right). Very good IQ....

[Shawn Zierman]

Handsome bird with impressive battle gear. I also prefer the more artistic (imo) rendering with the image in pane #6. Really enjoy the details on the bird and the way that you have handled the sharpening of the image.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Excellent pose, details, exposure and IQ, Ian. I vote for the cleaned up repost too, fwiw. I would move the bird further to the left in the frame just a tad. I wish the small rocks weren't in front of the legs, but no biggie. Thanks for the info on the bird, always appreciated.

[christopher galeski]

great image,good IQ,nice pose and light,good rflection,prefer the repost with the sand removed.well done.

[William Dickson]

Well done Ian, nice pose, and I really like the colours on this bird

[Ian Wilson]

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice and comments on this image. Regards, Ian.

[keith mitchell]

Ian the repost is the one for me, it has been interesting reading the comments on this cracking image.

Cheers Keith.