Dunlin

[Aditya Sridhar]

Yesterday, I went to a local beach at sunrise to photograph shorebirds and waders in flight, but that plan fell through due to poor conditions (Dust and sand). Thankfully, this Dunlin saved the morning and provided some great photographic opportunities. In this case, it came just a bit too close and I didn't have sufficient light to stop down (wouldn't have made a major difference anyway). Cloning was kept to a minimum - I only removed a small black object on the beach in front of the bird. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the yellow patch at the bottom and on the RHS - would you remove them or leave them as is?

Camera - Nikon D850
Focal Length - 500mm
Aperture - f/6.3
Shutter Speed - 1/2000s
ISO - 2800
Handheld
Manual, Auto ISO
Crop - 85-90% of full-frame

[Colin Driscoll]

Nice light and you got most of the bird in focus. Image does need a bit of CW rotation if you follow the DOF line.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Colin - Thank you. I thought the same but the image is actually level - what you're seeing is the natural slope of the beach

[Colin Driscoll]

Good point but I always try to make the image look level where there isn't context to show that slope, if it doesn't result in the bird falling over!

[Ivan Sjogren]

I recognise your story of lying flat on the ground photographing shorebirds and then gaining their trust to the point that they come too close haha! It's a beautiful thing though.
You got a very nice shot here. The low and soft light is very good, nice setting and low shooting angle. I would not do anything to the yellow patch on the bottom of RHS, it gives the image depth. I'm a bit less in love of the yellow patch higher up on the RHS but would still leave it as the image will look very plain without any of those elements. Otherwise you got good details, pose and exposure.
I agree that it would look better with a CW rotation as the slope isn't visible in the image.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Aditya, I love the soft light and especially the raised foot. The single thing that bugs me about this image is the fairly large halo-like smudge that merges with the bird's lower back. BTW, this is a juvenile just starting to molt to first winter plumage.

with love, artie

[Aditya Sridhar]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'll do some CW rotation and see how it looks.

Artie - I'll probably dodge/clone that blob out. Also interesting to know that it's a juvenile bird. I should probably do more research on my subjects before I photograph them Thanks for the info!