Nice low angle, and an awesome rock the turnstone is standing on! I aslo love the glossy gold-coloured rock beside it. Sharpness looks good everywhere, except the head and neck which are showing subject motion blur. Photographing shorebirds, which are almost always on the move, usually requires a higher ISO than 200 (for higher shutter speeds) to properly and consistently freeze the motion. I would crop from below to just above the large OOF rock to get rid of it as it adds nothing to the comp as is (but rather distracts). You could also tone down the OOF darker patch behind the tail.
I agree with Dainel concerning the crop. I have never seen this bird so I don't know how the eye must look, but here it seems a little soft and does not draw my eye. Would sharpening the eye alone help?
I think this is a great pose and comp, except for the aforementioned rock. These guys don't hold still for a moment so they can indeed be a challenge! More light around the eye would help some in my opinion.
Thanks Daniel and Wheeler.
Here is another pose with a closer crop to what I believe you have both mentioned. It has a slightly different pp,n to the first. I agree that the crop from bottom does get more attention on the rock and bird. I was not too keen on the extra bright waves in bg, so trying to stay with a 4x6 or 8x10 crop I was stuck.
The eye is also a bit better exposed in the second. . The darn birds had gotten within mfd and were about right angled to sun and myself so I had to do quite a bit of work to recover the bit of eye detail on both shots.
Thanks to you both for the comments and I will keep that in mind about shutter speed and shore birds, a very good tip. Dave
Dave-
I like this one better than the first. The eye is great and overall I think the repost shows the bird off in the best light. I like the White BG. Great shot. Wish it was mine!
Mac
Black Turnstone
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