Snowy Plover Chick

[gail bisson]

I am not sure about this one. Love it or hate it?
Taken on Sanibel last spring.
canon 1D MKIV ISO 400 SS 1/1000 F 6.3
Cropped to a pano with a bit off the RHS.~ 50% crop
I added the catchlight to the eye but now that I see this posted I need to either remove it or enlarge it.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
gail

[Grace Scalzo]

What's not to love? I appreciate how well you have included the habitat. It is interesting with the lines that it creates and give the image a sense of scale. Even the little white shell by his foot is a nice touch. Then there is the adorable bird and soft colors, I would rate this way up there, Gail. (I'd go without the catchlight in this case, my opinion only)

[John Robinson]

Hi Gail
Thats a grand shot indeed !
The whole inclusion of the "outside world"- makes it !!" ( vegetation I mean )
Love it !
JohnR

[keith mitchell]

What's not to love about this? maybe finding a little shade from the plant that usually grows on hot sunny beaches., really pleased you shows us this excellent piece of work.

[dankearl]

I wish there was separation between the chick and the foliage, but I like this a lot, nice lines and the chick looks great....

[Ross Taylor]

Hi Gail,

I love the setting. The clusters of leaves. The OOF pastel BG. The little chick, and the catchlight.

If you have the pixels to retain IQ, I would consider one or all of the following:

- Crop off the leftmost leaf cluster. This to get the bird a little larger and our eye clear that the bird, and not the pattern of clusters is the subject
- Drop the saturation ever so slightly on the leaves
- Clone out the dark brown area in the sand left of the bird
- Clone out half of the leaf cluster that intersects the bird. The result could mirror the angle of the middle leaf cluster

Yes that is a lot of work to suggest in one critique! These are things I would try if it was my photo ... no guarantees as to the results though! Lol :)

Ross

[Bill Dix]

Lots to like;, including the cute chick; but my overall reaction is that the foliage is too dominant. Perhaps that's the idea, but I wish the bird were clear of the leaves and that there were fewer of them.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot as is, no need, from my point of view, to clone/patch - it looks natural. Ok being a bit picky the chick would be in the gap between the leaves but I like the image very much. I would be happy with this.

[Marina Scarr]

Love the graduation of the vegetation and how the chick is camouflaged so well here. All the elements work well together. I wouldn't change a thing!