When Geoffrey and I walked along Bowman's Beach in February of 2017, just before sunset, we came across a dozen or so Red Knots in non-breeding plumage. Unlike their Sanderling cousins that are often solitary as they dash in and out of the surf line, these guys seem to have more of a herd instinct. It was a riot to watch them parade as a group up and down the beach. They were usually clumped together such that it was tough to isolate just a few birds without overlap, but here with the help of some Content-Aware Fill I was able to narrow it down to three with almost no overlap. I do wish the RH bird had turned his head a tad.
D500, 500f4 + 1.4 TC, ISO 1000, 1/2500s @ f/7.1 manual. SB-700 fill @ -0.3 EV (not sure why I had the flash on, but maybe it helped with the raking side light).
A nice group result, particularly with the foam line behind. The shells also add interest. I do agree about the missing head turn on the third bird, but that's a big ask in a group shot. I might
try to raise the shadows a bit more.I so miss being able to shoot on sandy beaches like this. Massachusetts was great, but there's little-to-no beach shooting here in NorCal. I am forced into
the ridiculous bay mud instead!
I really like this Bill.
You should enter it in the theme for the month.
Love the wave in the BG and the fact that you got 3 sharp birds in the frame. The nicely spaced shells in the FG are a bonus!
Gail
I love it! Yes, a better HA on the last bird would have been great but it is still acceptable in this fun trio image. I can't help but think a subtle CCW rotation may be needed. I love the surf, clean beach, and 1-2-3 wlaking strides.
Thank you all. In the RAW file the RH bird didn't look quite as sharp as the others. The use of Topaz Sharpen AI brought it into almost acceptable sharpness. Daniel, I did some CCW rotation on the original file, and I think this is about right since the beach slopes slightly down to the right. But maybe just a tad more?