Short-billed Dowitcher

[allanrube]

I was at Sandy Point last evening. There were a few clouds in the sky which produced soft light. I was lucky to see this guy, because every other shorebird around was a semi-palmated plover or least sandpiper - and they were in flocks which made it hard to isolate one.

I saw this guy and followed him around for about 15 minutes before he flew away. The hardest part was to get him to look towards me. And when he did there were items in the background which ruined the image. I like this one though.

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

Very nice indeed. The surroundings are mystic enough to emerge the bird out of the frame.
Just for my taste I would have cropped a bit from the bottom, as the reflection is also blurred and incomplete.

Szimi

[Daniel Cadieux]

Very nice! I like the muddy dunes. Great light on this guy. I would crop from below to just above the reflection to make it a stronger composition.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I like the light, mood, angle and setting. I agree regarding cropping some off the bottom.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wonderful lighting and a beautiful capture with lovely pose, detail and eye contact. I agree with the cropping suggestions. Many thanks for sharing.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Another vote for cropping some from the bottom, besides that, the shot is stunning, the light and ambient, details and eye contact, all looks great! Congratulations!

[Mike Milicia]

Allan, you are certainly getting some great stuff from Plum Island lately !
Hope to make it up there this weekend.

Love the pose and the overall look and feel of this one ! Congrats !

The image seems a bit bright overall to me, especially the belly and the bright areas on the head.
Might try toning it down just a bit.

[Raymond Barlow]

really nice scene, the environment is excellent.

[Vincent Grafhorst]

This image has a lovely feel because of the lighting. The dunes as Daniel calls them are also very nice as is the low angle and the pose of the bird. The whites just above the leg (where the leg joins the body) looks a bit hot. Personally I would add a bit of blacks to the neutrals here. I agree on the crop suggestion.

[James Salywoda]

Sensational shot !!! The comp and colors are super. Very Pretty!

[Juan Aragonés]

Fantastic image. I agree about the cropping at the bottom and about toning down just a little bit. The BG is really sweet and the birds seems to be rendered in 3D. Fantastic eye contact/catch and pose and a great low angle.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Fantastic light and overall feel. Well done!

[Glenn Bartley]

Beautiful. I love the setting.

[allanrube]

Thanks for all the comments. I liked the soft light, an ethereal feeling.
I crop for 11 by 15 prints though perhaps I should make changes when I post here. This crop certainly looks better.
I also grabbed the hottest spot, created a layer and changed it to multiply as Art suggested in a post. After flattening, I used curves to bring the highest highlights down a few points. Finally, I changed levels from 1 to .97 on the entire image.
How is it now?

[Linda Robbins]

The repost looks fantastic. I love the way the color of the sandy mounds duplicate the golden tones of the birds plumage. Interesting texture and form. Very nice composition and perfect pose. Lovely image!

[Matthew Studebaker]

That crop really helped. Very nice. Exposure looks spot on now on my screen. Great profile and separated leg position. Soft light and pastel colors also add a lot to this fine shorebird shot.