Oystercatcher

[Alex Becker]

Hi all,

Here's an oystercatcher from Sandy Hook, NJ. Two landed near me giving me a couple of frames with their wings still up. Minor edits in post, added a little bit of canvas on top, warmed the image, brightened the eye slightly to give it a bit more pop.

Camera: Nikon D500
Lens: 200-500mm f/5.6 at 500mm
Specs: 1/2000 ISO 640 f/7.1

Thanks for looking and commenting on prior posts!
Alex

[Randy Stout]

Alex:
I like the hopping pose, line of wings and bill, nice control of the whites. Well done canvas extension.

The beach is a bit cluttered, but you of course have no control of that.

Cheers

Randy

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Alex, as Randy said, nice control of the Exposure. I feel if your ethics allow, then a little bit of 'gardening' would benefit the image, especially with the removal of the two bits of wood RHS near the tail and the white spots under the neck and bill.

TFS
Steve

[Alex Becker]

Thanks both for commenting. Glad I got the exposure right here -- I often question that especially in the field when dealing with a small amount of 'blinkies'. I don't particularly mind some gardening but just don't want it to look too unnatural / blotchy. I went through and removed ones that were close to the bird or drew my eye, so the beach is still a little cluttered. Let me know what you guys think....

Thanks!

[Steve Kaluski]

I don't particularly mind some gardening but just don't want it to look too unnatural / blotchy.

Much better Alex, I would also drop the Blue, your call, but the LH wing (as viewed) would look better IMHO. Why do you say 'blotchy'? If you are using PSCC 2017 then no issues, very quick & easy.

[Alex Becker]

Good call on the blues, dropped them here. I do use PSCC 2017 for any cloning. Not sure if blotchy is the right word exactly but sometimes when I use content fill aware on an object surrounded by a very smooth BG I feel like the result is often piece-wise looking. Running a blur on that feathered selection gets the smoothness back so not a huge problem.

[Steve Kaluski]

I use content fill aware on an object surrounded by a very smooth BG I feel like the result is often piece-wise looking.

Perhaps it's not the right tool Alex, as you have many options, but dependent on the issue. I have never in my entire life run any 'smoothing' as the BKG is what it is, by doing so it can often look artificial IMHO.

[Bill Dix]

Terrific upwing position, and good handling of blacks and whites. Tough to find a clean patch of beach at The Hook. All of the debris from New York Harbor seems to wash up there.

[gail bisson]

Nice wings up pose. Whites look good and I am glad you did a bit of clean up.
The green vegetation at the top adds a nice pop of color.
Gail

[Isaac Grant]

I like the raised wings and the exposure looks good too. It is getting harder and harder to find an area of clean beach anywhere. My best suggestion would be to arrive near sundown or sun up on a rising or falling tide and photograph the birds in the flat areas where the waves wash up. Typically there is very little if any debris there and also very little shells. I will post a shot soon of an Oystercatcher I took at Nickerson (beach above that line is cluttered, dirty, full of foot prints and tire marks) where you can see what I mean. But that is the best way to avoid the debris.