Least Sandpiper

[Paul Ricciardi]

Olympus E1, Sigma 50-500 @ 500mm, F/7.1, 1/400th, ISO 800, EV-0

Photographed this guy from a kayak in a swamp here in Connecticut. Not too terribly positive on the ID (I'll admit I am NOT the world's best ID'er of birds). Really loving the kayak, let's me get good and close. Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Paul

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Paul, Your bird is a Spotted Sandpiper in fresh juvenal plumage. (Do check out my Shorbirds; Beautiful Beachcombers; it is packed with ID and aging tips.

While the image is relatively sharp--the bird could use some selective sharpening--you have cut off the feet. With so much room in the frame, this is a mortal sin. With the kayak rolling and rocking you need to concentrate on getting the central sensor on the subject even if it means a centered COMP. You can always crop after the fact. But rule #1 for small in the frame subjects is: get the whole subject in the frame with some space on all sides.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Paul - looks like everything has been covered by the man himself :)

Keep them coming.

[Julie Kenward]

I agree with Artie about the bird needing to be sharpened but I have to admit I'm not loving the foreground or the background in this image. Did you do a huge crop on this? I can't figure out why there seems to be so much distortion and noise in the image.

[Alfred Forns]

Fully agree with above !!!

I've don some photographing from moving small boats and it is a great idea to have a little extra room all around !!!!

[Desmond Chan]

To me the most serious problem is the cutting off of the leg. The bird could be "moved" more to the side, too. Negative space could be good if used properly, I think. Unfortunately, it may not be the case here.

[Paul Ricciardi]

I had no choice on the legs guys, he was almost in a trench of earth and due to the fact that I was in a kayak I couldn't get a higher angle to include the legs. I could have stood up in the kayak in an attempt to include the legs but that's just stupid with a camera haha. So it was no legs or no shot...thanks for the advice regarding the legs though I'll be sure to attempt to include them in the future.

Julie-this is full frame, normally my ISO800 images from the E1 are not this bad, but this one is particularly rough.

Thanks for the input, much appreciated

[Arthur Morris]

I had no choice on the legs guys, he was almost in a trench of earth and due to the fact that I was in a kayak I couldn't get a higher angle to include the legs.

Hi Paul, Ah, I see your confusion. Sorry for not being clearer. What we are looking for is for you to have included the virtual legs in the frame. In other words, even though the legs are partially hidden by the bank it is still the best plan (especially when the bird is small in the frame, it is best to include the virtual legs (as if you could see them) and then leave some room below them for a border.

Does that make more sense?