Spotted Sandpiper

[gail bisson]

Not nearly as pretty a specimen as Isaac's spotted sandpiper! This is an adult with fairly worn plumage.
Taken near my cottage in Ingonish.
Canon 1 DX
600mm
ISO 1600 SS 1/1000 F7.1
Waded out over really sharp stones for this one while barefoot 3 weeks ago. Managed a couple of big gashes to the soles of my feet! When will I learn...
I think I must be into sado-masichism!
Crop to 75% FF. Processed in LR Classic CC and Photoshop CC. Quite a few small changes to these (new to me) editing programs, so still learning.
Nothing added or cloned. NR to BG.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Bill Dix]

Beautiful pose against a perfect background. Worth the addition to your catalog of war wounds (at least for me as I sit here). (I'm sure there was a reason why you weren't wearing water sandals.) The sandpiper feels just a tad pale to me as I look at other SPSA images. Maybe typical for a worn adult? Or maybe a touch of saturation or few points of black could lift it?

[Isaac Grant]

That is so pretty Gail. Beautiful color palette. Pose, head position and details all look great. I agree with Bill, the bird does look a touch thin on my monitor. I suspect that much of what we see varies as we are viewing on different monitors and lighting conditions. I think Bill suggestion is spot on. Some levels adjustments and added blacks would finish this one off nicely.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the hind toe keeping the sandpiper level on the slanted granite perch. Perfect head angle. I see what the guys above mean. Surfer's shoes are great for wading!

[gail bisson]

Thank you guys. You are absolutely right and here is a redo.
I do have water shoes and scuba booties. I was sitting on the deck at the cottage and saw some gannets hunting along our beach. I grabbed the camera and planned only to stay on the beach but this lovely peep landed on a rock about 30 feet from shore and I decided to go into the water!
Stupid, I know but I was sure that if I ran back to the house to get my booties the bird would fly off.

[Bret Goddard]

Real nice light and colors, the colors of the rock sure do add to it.

[Bill Dix]

Much better to my eye. I knew you had a good reason; have to grab them when they’re there.

[Isaac Grant]

Agree much better Gail. I would even take it a step farther and add a touch of additional exposure and a little bit of warmth.

[John Mack]

Nice frame of this sandpiper. Great background here. Love the comp.

[Juan Tolentino]

Great image Gail, repost is an improvement. Nice pose, details, background..etc..etc. Thank you for sharing.

[Arthur Morris]

I like the original post the best. A lovely bird and a lovely image.

artie