American Oystercatcher at sunset

[gail bisson]

Taken in SW Florida last week. This confiding bird returned to the same rocks every evening at 4:30PM like clockwork. I just had to wait for a nice sunset to give me the light I was hoping for.
Canon 1Dx
600mmII and 1.4x
ISO 800 SS 1/1600 F 7.1
PP: Small crop to ~80% FF, levels, DE at 1%, cloned out a bright area to the right of AMOC head, USM to JPEG
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail
I toyed with the idea of desaturating the bill a bit, but it really was this color because of the setting sun

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Beautiful light, nice low angle and HA. Well composed. Great techs as usual. TFS.

[Kirk Benson]

I have no doubt the bill was this vibrant in that beautiful sunset light Gail, rich color throughout the image. Love the eye-level POV and terrific shooting angle to get the sunlight on the AMOC from head to tail and to capture an excellent BG. Really fine work and a real pleasure to view.

[christopher galeski]

very nice Gail,beautiful light,nice pose.good detail.

[Binu John]

Lovely shot, Gail! Love the light in this. It's not easy to get the right exposure for this bird, but you nailed the exposure here. Excellent POV and HA too. TFS

[dankearl]

Gorgeous light, I think the BG could be smoothed out a tad....

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent look back pose in lovely light and saturated warm colors, I also like how he is standing on the small "island"

TFS

[Daniel Cadieux]

Sweet light indeed, and perfect head turn. I like that little rock it has taken a liking for. Everything came together really well. Knowing me, if this was mine I'd likely cover up the dark blue area directly above the head.

[David Salem]

The thing I like the most about this frame, besides the killer light, beautiful pose, and great techs, is the cool little island he is standing on.
Nice work and looks like you got some nice light on your trip. I heard it was unseasonably cold.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Nice light, wonderful image. Not sure if you are still in Florida but this week has been nothing but fog. Thank you for sharing.

[John Robinson]

Lovely shot Gail. Agree with comments above. Got to love that eye!!!
JohnR

[Robert Kimbrell]

Beautiful light you captured here Gail. The pose looks very nice, you waited for just the right head turn. Good job getting low.

[Marina Scarr]

What a stunning AMOY image and expertly processed.