American Oystercatcher

[Isaac Grant]

Took this shot back on June 25th and just got to looking at those pics last night. Forgot about them. Taken on the beach at Breezy Point in Queens, New York. Light was fading very quickly and sun was almost set. Shot is full frame. Taken while the bird was actively feeding and walking towards me.

Canon 7d2 and Canon 500 f4 ii + 1.4xiii. ISO 400, F9, SS 1/1250. Auto white balance. Single focus point set just below the eye. Camera on tripod with legs fully extended and just off the ground.

Converted in DPP 4. Auto white balance. Shadows +2, Highlights -3. Orange and red saturation and luminance all -1. In PS I sharpened and applied noise reduction to background. Also lowered the yellows and reds some more so the beak and legs have a more lifelike color.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Isaac,
lovely oystercatcher and i like you POV. I think there are more details in the blacks, specifically the head and throat area that maybe you can try to improve. I like the muted BG and how the leg is breaking the surface of the water. what a pleasant surprise to find these images eh! TFS

[Isaac Grant]

Thanks. As I am always eager to learn, what would you do to get more details out of the blacks? As an fyi I don't always remember when I am posting all of the steps that I followed. Typically I am in the middle of 15 things when I post and am often not thorough enough I guess. Before sharpening, I did use Color Efex Pro 4 and used 3 filters. Tonal contrast (set to 50% opacity I think), Detail extractor (set to 25% opacity I think. Can't remember 100% but I do remember that I tried it at 50% and the pic was too crunchy) and White Neutralizer (set to 50% I think). I did get out more details than not using that. Knowing this what would you suggest...

[arash_hazeghi]

Love the low angle, great exposure and good details. I like the waves in the BG, my only wish is that the left foot was raised a bit higher. I'd put more room in the bottom.

The details in the black look pretty good to me, it's not missing anything and I wouldn't touch it

TFS

[Adhika Lie]

Wow, this is a lovely pose, Isaac. I love the way the sun hits the bird. The sun angle is perfect for me and the DOF that show the sharp bill tip is a huge plus.

[annmpacheco]

Hi Isaac,
Back for a second look and yes the blacks look just fine, perhaps tired eyes, but i think when i plugged in my notebook, there was a bit more light on my screen this morning and that has made all the difference... nice image!

[Isaac Grant]

Thanks Arash. I agree that I wish the foot was raised as well. Always a reason to go back for more. Thanks for the notes about the blacks as well. It looked pretty good to me but I am always open to suggestions and it is why I post here.

[Marina Scarr]

Lovely image. The light, low angle and BG make this image special. Agree on the raised foot but we can always strive for better next time we're out there!!!

[Arthur Morris]

Add 60-90 points of CYAN to the REDs in Selective Color :)

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[Isaac Grant]

That is now stuck in my brain Artie. I took some shots of oystercatchers again a few nights ago. Reds were more in control but I have that in my back pocket the next time I have over saturated reds.