Taken at the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. 500mm, 1/250, f/16, ISO 400. At this location there are abundant stilts and avocets. Mating season is over, and I'm expecting to see babies within the next few weeks.
Really like the action captured in this image and the lovely pose. I would like to see a tad more canvas on the right and a little less on the left so as to off center the stilt. Excellent exposure Bill. Many thanks for sharing.
Nice photo Bill. Well done on the whites and still have details in the blacks. I may have opened up the lense a bit and speeded up the ss to really freeze the bird movement. Dave
Hi Bill - shutter speed looks a bit low at 1/250th for a 500mm - due to your F16 - would have traded the DOF for some extra shutter speed - looks a tad soft on my screen.
Like the pose - IMHO a GREAT shot of these guys- you need that gorgeous red eye clearly visible.
Yes, f/16 is a bit much. Normally no need to go above f/8 for great results and as an added bonus you get much better shutter speeds when opened up more too. Another thing to look for is tilted images. Yours needs some CCW rotation to be level. Notice how the stilt seems to be going downhill, and you see can also see that the ripples are slanted. Excellent exposure, you nailed a tough one. Nice walking pose, and perfect head angle :-)
In response to the helpful comments you've all given, I've rotated it, added canvas on the right, and lightened the iris a bit. It won't show up much because the bird's pupil was fairly wide open already. I really appreciate the time people take to suggest improvements.
Excelent exposure Bill. Your repost has worked out well regarding the rotation, but I would still move him back to the left, leaving only a slight space behind his tail, and more for him to walk into.
Black-necked Stilt
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