The head angle and fluffed-up pose are great. I wish there were no rock covering the feet, wish for a catchlight and might sharpen a bit less. I see a slight green cast on my monitor.
I love the artistic painterly llok that the high and browns cast to the image. I don't mind the rocks at all since the balance the composition, The last OFF one on the top right closes the semi-circle around the bird. Well done.
I agree with most of the above: rocks are alright - might blur the large ones out front
I think this might look better as more of a 'pano' - 4x6 and set the bird a little further left
Great shot, you had a very little light considering the techs. Love how it ended looking, almost like a painting, great pose, detail and mood on this one. Congratulaitons!
Though I would love to see more of the legs (the feet would be underwater no matter what), I really love this image. The perfect high key exposure, the ruffle, the spot-on head angle, and a bird that I have never seen combine to make this one a personal favorite. I suspect that this is a winter plumaged adult. What was the date of the image? ps: I even love the rocks.
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The rocks, and the colors--they go together--make for a really evocative atmosphere. That last out-of-focus rock on the right seems to me to open the possibility of more beyond the subject--unseen but suggested. More of a pano format might make a nice effect, but otherwise leave it all as is.
I do like the monochromatic effect, the low angle and the rocks. The missing feet don't bother me at all, as already stated they would be below the water. Congratulation on a wonderful image.
James, I might try it without the right rock. Thanks.
Dave, a low perspective at a sewerage farm requires a ground sheet! Those "rocks" that everyone has been talking about might actually have passed through my digestive system at some point!
Axel, I agree that the rock in front of the bird's leg is less than ideal.
Fabs, thanks for commenting.
Doug, I've printed this one and if anything, I think it needs a little trimmed off the right. It is funny, but I find that I really need to make prints to see which crop works best.
Ramon, you are right about the light level. It was quite a dim morning.
Arthur, Sharpies are very common in Melbourne, Australia during the northern hemisphere winter. As I understand it, Sharp-tailed Sandpipers start migrating from the Arctic tundra on an annual basis in the second year of their lives, so this bird must be at least two years old. This shot was taken on 17/10/2008.
Massimo, I might try another crop. Thanks for commenting.
Gerard, you pop up everywhere! Thanks for looking.
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
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