Blue Footed Booby

[loren waxman]

Hello nice people! This is my first post ever. I have no idea if it is sized or sharpened correctly for the web. This photo was taken in the Galapagos in August while with Arthur Morris. This was a full frame horizontal. I chopped off the sides to make into a vertical. Noise reduction has been applied separately to background and subject. Portions of the eyes and bill have been sharpened via PS smart sharpen with everything else masked. While the subject was masked, I brought down the exposure of the background with curves just a touch. Thanks Arthur & Peter for encouraging me to join BPN.

Canon 5d4
100-400 II 1/125 f/9 ISO 400
1.4 Teleconverter - 338mm

[arash_hazeghi]

pretty cool head shot, techs all look good from here, sharp with good exposure. the problem with shots like this is that there isn't enough DOF to cover the beak and at the eyes at the same time, and the tip of the beak goes totally OOF. still an interesting perspective. the head is too tight in the frame you need a bit more room around it

TFS and welcome to BPN

[Daniel Cadieux]

I'm personally OK with the DOF for a head-on image like this as the bill is very long anyhow. I do agree the composition is too tight however. Good focus on the eyes, and nice details on the head feathers.

Big welcome to BPN!!

[Arthur Morris]

Nice first post Loren and welcome to BPN :) Like Daniel, I am fine with the (lack of) d-o-f. Even if you had gone to f/45 at some absurd ISO and focus on the eye, the d-o-f in front of the plane of focus at f/45 at 3.5 feet would have been only 1/4 inch. That with all due respect to my good friend Arash. Zooming out a bit and creating a vertical original would have been the best plan. Lastly, I think that the midtones might look better a bit lighter.

with love, artie

[loren waxman]

Thanks Arash!
L.

[loren waxman]

Thanks Daniel. Much appreciated!!!

[loren waxman]

Thank you Arthur!!! Glad I found the right place...

[loren waxman]

Thanks for all your help - here & in the field!!!

[greg cowle]

Hi Loren, I like these close-up down the beak views, even though you can't get the tip in focus. You have the eyes nicely in focus, and it gives a really interesting view of the color and shape of the feathers on the head.
Greg

[loren waxman]

Thanks Greg! Much appreciated!

[Noel Heustis]

Hi Loren, I love this shot. I think the color of the BG is a great contrast to the colors of the subject. The eye contact and the look make this image pop. The tilt of the head is great too. Thanks for sharing.

[Jay Shah]

Hi Loren, love the composition. The image gets the viewer because of the close-up and HA.

[loren waxman]

Thanks so much Noel! Much appreciated!!!

[loren waxman]

Thanks so much Jay! Much Appreciated!!!