This bird that was actively feeding was photographed at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Queens, New York. From the East Pond where you must lay down in the muck and get right in their habitat. New elbow pads help for sure! While I have shots of it with its head out of the water, I picked this frame because it really tells the story about watching these birds. I should note that the area to the right and top right of the bird is as shot. The water was darker and somehow lighter right at the edge of the bird (guess it was standing in a transition zone.) No work done at all although it kind of looks to me like it was.
Canon 7dii and Canon 500 f4 ii. 500mm, F8, ISO 640, SS 1/1600 + 1/3. Tripod mounted with legs fully extended.
Converted in DPP 4. In PS I sharpened and applied noise reduction to background. Full frame.
Nice feeding behaviour. With the length of their bills we get a sense of how deep they probe for food bits. The two bubbles add interest, I imagine they popped up during the dowitcher "sewing machine" movement. I like the curled feather too. I do think the image needs to be rotated CCW.
Technically very good but the pose would have better from my viewpoint had the bill been just leaving or entering the water. I appreciate this pose is what you wanted and from a behavioral perspective I appreciate that.
Hi Isaac, Its always good to capture any behaviour from our feathered friends, and in this you have the best of both worlds - The bill feeding fairly deep in the water, and still showing most of the head. I like the colours and feather detail, curled feather too, and Im fine with the BG in the URC. Having said that, I would maybe add a bit more to the RHS. With regards to rotation, I can see Dan's point, as he is probably looking at the 'tip' of the ripples just infront of the Dowitcher which 'seems' to need some CCW, but if one looks at the line of the other ripples below the leg and to the right, it looks level enough to me.
Looks as if I am alone here but it looks to me as if the image quality, sharpness, and feather detail are not up to your usual standards especially on the head and the body...
a
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Nice POV and nice to have the eye visible .So often , the nictitating membrane covers the eye when they are foraging this deeply.
I like the behavioral aspect of this image.
Gail
Hey Isaac, I am the only one. If it looks fine to you that is all that matters.
a
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
Feeding Short-billed Dowitcher
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