This weekend found two of these little guys a little later in the morning. They weren't scared of my truck at all, but I could not get a "proper pose" out of them! This one finally gave me something - I'm hoping that this might be one of those cases where even if not ideal, the pose still works.
Sony a77, 300mmF4 @ f7.1 1/1250 ISO 320
In LR, boost Contrast, reduce Highlights a tad, and reduced Whites (all that white sand!)
IN PS CC did some spot healing on a few grass blades in the way, cloned a hot-spot away at top right, and a dark rock top left.
C&C appreciated, and also appreciate comments on whether this kind of pose works or not.
Andrew, I can see the conditions may have been a bit harsh, but you have caught the subject well. I might have tried for a wider aperture to reduce the BG a bit. I see you have boosted Contrast. I try to steer away from that as much as possible. Andrew, I am no expert, but I know what works for me. Work your way down the LR "Basic" panel avoiding contrast.
I might consider cropping a bit smaller on all sides, remembering to keep a little more in front. I think if you could selectively mask the bird you could reduce the blues and yellow in the BG to make the bird stand out a little more. I believe a little CW rotation could be in order.
The pose works for me. He has stopped and is looking right at you. There is a very good connection between the viewer and the bird.
What Glennie said! I'd leave the Contrast slider alone and move Shadows right and Highlights left. Shift Exposure as needed. The shadow is very black and I prefer to see some detail in darks. The midday light wasn't a help here, but you might mitigate it a little. I like the bird's position between the two clumps of grass and the grounding provided by the shadow. Nice sharpness and detail.
Nice head turn and better to get this pose than none! We can't get on our bellies for every subject. These guys are pretty skittish in my limited experience.
Well it is certainly a nice pose, and to me, the photo is well-composed, well-exposed and sharp. But brutal lighting. I agree with others about not increasing contrast as it is a contrasty situation to begin with. Ihtisham
Killdeer
