High-Key Lesser Sand Plover

[Aditya Sridhar]

It was a dull day at the beach and sunrise was interrupted by a blanket of heavy clouds. Since I wasn't getting a lot of color in the wet sand, I exposed to the right and created a high-key image. In PS, I did some beach clean-up and selective dodge and burn. I liked the monochromatic look and kept the composition slightly looser than my usual to give the image a 'bird in heaven' look Unfortunately, I couldn't get a view of the feet due to the rocky and uneven structure of the beach.

Camera - Nikon D850
Focal Length - 500mm
Aperture - f/5.6
Shutter Speed - 1/400s
ISO - 2000
Handheld
Manual, Auto ISO
50-60% of Full-frame
As always, all comments & CC are appreciated!

[Bill Dix]

The high-key approach works nicely with this sweet little plover. I don't even miss the feet, at least not too much. I do feel that there is a lot of negative space that for me doesn't contribute to the image. I might take some off the bottom and top. You might consider burning the legs just a tad.

[Aditya Sridhar]

Here's a repost taking into account Bill's suggestions I darkened the legs a touch and removed some of the excess neg. space.

[gail bisson]

Nice image.
The repost is an improvement.
Nice POV and IQ. Nice details in the whites as well.
Gail

[Ivan Sjogren]

Interesting shot Aditya, I like the high-key effect and think it works well in this composition. The bird looks sharp, nicely exposed and with a good pose. I agree that the repost looks better.
Have you removed much of the saturation in this picture? I wonder how it would look if you went for a little more color as I find it odd looking at a all grey sand plover.

[Daniel Cadieux]

The "missing" feet are a non-issue for me as it is obvious they are dug into the sand (or below a slight dip). Nice treatment to the image, with the repost an improvement, I agree. Still lots more space below that I am used to - just personal preference.

[Krishna Prasad kotti]

Cool Image. I like the Monotone feel to the image.

TFS

[Aditya Sridhar]

Thanks everyone!

Interesting shot Aditya, I like the high-key effect and think it works well in this composition. The bird looks sharp, nicely exposed and with a good pose. I agree that the repost looks better.
Have you removed much of the saturation in this picture? I wonder how it would look if you went for a little more color as I find it odd looking at a all grey sand plover.

Ivan - I didn't really do anything to the saturation. I did remove a slight yellow color cast, but other than that, the colors are true to the scene. Under cloudy conditions, the sand plovers look quite grey. The beige only comes through in direct sunlight.

[John Mack]

Really like the light tones is this one. I prefer the repost over the original.