Have been feeling under the weather the last several months and been unable to shoot or do much of anything, but had an opportunity where I felt a wee bit better this past weekend to the point of venturing out to Nickerson Beach with some friends. Before I arrived there, I knew I might get an opportunity to get some portraits of the Oyster Catchers and their chicks, so I planned accordingly.
This is one of the youngn's as it made its way around the beach. I was able to get a nice clean bg by shooting from ground level. My BAA shoulder pad attached to my tripod serves a double purpose for me as I will also drop my tripod legs and lay the tripod in the sand, and use the pad as a support and pivot point for the lens. The background here is the sand (as it was dead ahead and then passed me on my right), I hope next time it passes to my left allowing me to get a nice contrasting background with the water on the beaches southern edge.
This was shot roughly at minimum focusing distance, with the following specs:
MK2n + 500/F4 + 2X (1000mm), 1/1000, F11, ISO 400
Very nice portrait, great details and exposure control. There is a slight sharpening halo around the bill that should be easy to fix. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Ed, Whassa matter; couldn't get any closer??? A wonderful image. Love the comp, the sharpness, and the image optimization. And a perfect head angle. It's a good thing that Axel-eye spotted the halo or else this would have been perfect. (Thanks for the plug.)
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Sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well, Ed. Hope seeing this image in camera cheered you right up. It's spectacular. The sharpness, detail, and BG - couldn't be better.
Thanks everyone. Yes, this image certainly cheered me up given. I paid for it a bit later though as I was exhausted (literally) by evening.
With my laptop working distance to the screen I didn't notice the halo right away, but now see it, and will correct it in my PSD (which ironically doesn't show it as strongly). When I saw this in the LCD and zoomed in till I couldn't zoom in any more and saw it was still sharp, I was glorified, and every other image wasn't so critical since I got what I set out to do.
We also met some nice photographers from Jersey, I think Susan and Claus, don't know if they are members here or not.
Artie, thanks esp for the comment, I know you don't toss your words around. :) And the pad has been great in my various uses of it. Thank you again.