Juvi Brown does the 'chicken dance'

[Randy Stout]

Good day:

This juvi brown was really flexing and flapping at Little Estero.

D700 500mm/4 f/13 ISO 1000 EV +.3

The focus point was on the eyes, and I believe with this f/stop, I could have been focused part way down the bill, kept the eyes sharp, and gotten the tip of the bill sharp as well.

The framing is a bit tight, but interested in comments.

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Randy

Don't mind the image being tight in this case and you got a great head angle/open beak !! Would only have like to seen a catch light to make the eye alive !! btw normally I would go for a wider aperture on act of the bg but this looks very good as presented !!! ... noise looks good at 1000 :)

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

This brought a smile to my face Randy and I love the action you captured here. Excellent detail and exposure and the action puts it over the top for me. Thanks for sharing.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool pose and details, I might raise the color temperature a few degrees.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I like the pose alot, Randy. I don't mind the soft tips of the bill as they are most likely caused by the preening movement (you don't mention shutter speed but I assume it was "relatively" slow)...with the bill pointing down f/13 should be sufficient to render them sharp even with the focus directly on the eye. In additon to Al's catchlight comment you could always selectively lighten the upper part of the eye that has a relection on it...should be enough to "liven" the eye. Exposure and sharpness are perfect...overall well done!!

[Randy Stout]

Thanks to suggestions from Daniel and Axel, I tweaked the color temperature slightly, and lightened the eye to liven it up a bit. The reflection of the sky in the top of the eye came up nicely, and the eye doesn't look as flat as the original. Let me know if it looks better to you.

Thanks

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Yes, it does look much better on my monitor.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Agreed...looks better for me too. Subtle tweaks can make a big difference!