Chick and feet ...

[Arthur Morris]

This image was created on the 2017 Galapagos IPT on our Punta Pitt landing. I used the hand held Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens with the Canon Extender EF 1.4X III (at 368mm) and my favorite Blue-footed Booby chick photography camera body, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. ISO 800. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop as framed: 1/320 sec. at f/7.1 in Manual mode. AWB. LensAlign/FocusTune micro-adjustment: -1. I selected an AF point that was three to the right of the center AF point/AI Servo/Expand/Shutter button AF as framed. The selected AF point, placed just to the right of the chick’s eye, was active at the moment of exposure.

As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome.

To learn more about this image check out the A Funny Hurricane Preparation Story, More 100-400 II Versatility, Little Known Punta Pitt, and a Hot Layer Masking Tutorial Tip blog post here. See especially the Layer Masking tutorial.

with love, artie and Irma

[Bill Dix]

Great capture and certainly a candidate for this month's theme. Nicely exposed and composed. From what you often tell us about DOF with close subjects, I'm surprised at the f/7.1; but I suppose another stop or two wouldn't have made much difference on the feet and would have had too much unwanted detail in the BG behind the chick's head.

PS, glad to hear that you survived the storm without too much damage.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Bill. The near foot and the chick's eye are pretty much on the same plane. If I was at 15 feet -- I was close to that at 386mm, the total dof would be more than 2 inches split about 50-50 ... But this might be why you were fooled: I ran a 77 pixel Gaussian Blur on the whole image and then painted it in on the upper BKGR only after adding a Hide-All (Black or Inverse) Layer Mask. I might have mentioned that in the blog post.

with love, artie

[Tim Foltz]

Artie, this is the kind of comp I love to see in LARGE prints, the colors are awesome, details and exposure are sweet.
I wish that bit of tail?? in upper right wasn't there, it's a little bit distracting. I still wish I had taken it.

-Tim

[gail bisson]

I have looked at this several times and it is slowly growing on me.
I like the blue and the white and the IQ. The detail of the white chicks' feathers are excellent.
I just find myself wishing I could see the entire chick.
I would crop a bit off the top to get rid of the tail in RUC.
I like the diagonal line created by the chicks' beak and the direction of the blue feet all pointing to the LLC.
Nice to have seen differently.
Gail

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Artie, excellent exposure on the whites of the chick, and its face is really sharp. There is sufficient separation between the feet and the chick, and those blue feet really pop nicely.

[Arthur Morris]

Artie, this is the kind of comp I love to see in LARGE prints, the colors are awesome, details and exposure are sweet.
I wish that bit of tail?? in upper right wasn't there, it's a little bit distracting. I still wish I had taken it.

-Tim

Thanks TIm. I agree on what I think are tail feathers. Have prepared a re-post based on your and Gail (and my) comments. I actually asked the question in my blog post but nobody bit. The folks are are too smart.

with love, artie and Irma

[Arthur Morris]

I have looked at this several times and it is slowly growing on me.
I like the blue and the white and the IQ. The detail of the white chicks' feathers are excellent.
I just find myself wishing I could see the entire chick.
I would crop a bit off the top to get rid of the tail in RUC.
I like the diagonal line created by the chicks' beak and the direction of the blue feet all pointing to the LLC.
Nice to have seen differently.
Gail

A repost for Tim and Gail. I did ask about a potential crop in the blog post that featured this image but the group came up empty :(

That sliver of tail bugged me once I posted the image but I never noticed it during post ...

with love, artie