Black-Necked Stilt

[Bob Blanchard]

Here's one from this morniing. Hard not to capture these guys when they're being cooperative.

Canon 1DsMII, 600mm f/4L, f/4, 1/640, ISO 200.

[Grace Scalzo]

Bob, I think you did a great job with this image. NIcely exposed, nicely composed. It shows off this species in an artful way. A tiny nit, in the lower right corner, I'd remove that small white stripe. Lovely to see this.

[Mats Honkamaa]

Wow, really impressive legs!
I think this picture is great, the red eye is perfect!

[Steve Maxson]

Gee, I wonder why they are called stilts? A beautiful pose, Bob. The raised foot is a big plus. Good detail in the blacks. There are some areas in the whites that look hot on my monitor. I agree with Grace that the little white stripe could go. You might consider cropping a bit more on the right. A vertical crop would also be very nice here. Very well done!

[Van Hilliard]

This is a fine photograph with beautiful color and a suggestion of pending action provided by that raised foot. I also like the play of background colors with the colors of the stilt. Some of the whites appear hot on my monitor as well. I understand the problem though. It's very difficult getting both the blacks and whites well-exposed. Artie Morris dealt with some of these issues in this recent thread: http://birdphotographers.net/forums/...ad.php?t=12166

[Dave Phillips]

it's a real keeper Bob. The low angle, earth tones, dof falloff and that golden light make it so

good work IMO

[Glenn Bartley]

Neat image. Nice to see the legs almost completely exposed.

[Arthur Morris]

Super. Sharp! You got the red eye, a necessity for this species. And oh all those pink legs! I only wish that the mud bank right behind the bird had taken a walk.

Where?

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Very lovely image of one of my favorite birds. Love that wonderful red eye and the great legs. Really nice work Bob. Congratulations !!

[Bob Blanchard]

Super. Sharp! You got the red eye, a necessity for this species. And oh all those pink legs! I only wish that the mud bank right behind the bird had taken a walk.

Where?

It's a drying lake I found off the beaten path (I got rid of the BMW for a four wheel drive). It has no name that I'm aware of, but it's very near 6 Mile Cypress and Metro Parkway (Metro dead-ends, but you can drive through the dead end with four wheel drive). They are nesting in there. Not much water left, but the remaining water is crowded with birds every morning I go there. I photographed one of the prettiest Spoonbills I've ever seen in there last week. Nice part is, you can access ALL sides of it with 4x4, so you can go in morning or evening.