Clapper Rail portrait

[Bill Dix]

From early one July morning at Sandy Hook. Some oof foreground vegetation blurred a portion of the bird, but there was enough detail remaining unobscured that I thought it was worth posting. C&C appreciated.

D7000, 500f4, ISO 800, 1/1000s @ f/7.1 manual, fill @ -1.7 EV. Audio.

[Randy Stout]

Bill:

Wonderful eye contact, effective dof, not easy with such a long bill.

Nice use of fill flash, subtle, just the way I like it.

Harmonious colors in bird/bg, and enough bg detail to establish the place, without overpowering the subject.

No problem with the foreground vegetation for me.

Cheers

Randy

[Joseph Przybyla]

Lovely portrait Bill, great detail, colors of the bird and background work well together. The rails I have encountered in Florida are very elusive, most times hidden in vegetation, good work getting close and finding one in the open. Thank you for sharing.

[Shawn Zierman]

I really enjoy the close up view of the species. Great light quality and the eye of the bird really gets my attention. It's different than most of the images that I've seen of this species...and it's different in a good way!

[Satish Ranadive]

Spectacular portrait with excellent IQ, Bill Sir.
Very nice HA, wonderful colors, great details and beautiful composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, I like this look back pose, and you have captured good plumage detail. Great eye, and your subtle flashwork - well is subtle, so well done there. I like how you have left the two blades of grass on the LHS.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Bill , like the portrait you captured of the rail. HA works , like wise the comp and overall colors.
For my liking it is a tiny bit thin in the mid tones .
Very nice subtle flash work .

TFS Andreas

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Wonderful portrait, Bill. The morning light makes this attractive bird more so. Excellent eye and feather detail. Like the framing with the green blades of grass.




Geoffrey

[Tom van den Brandt]

Great portrait Bill. Fine details and colors. Like the head angle and eye.

Tom

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Bill. I like the sharpness, red eye, details, DOF and composition.

[David Salem]

Great looking detailed portrait of this elusive bird. The colors look perfect and the eye really stands out well. Nice frame Bill