Black-necked Stilt Baby

[BillTyler]

The black-necked stilts have hatched, and the babies are out of the nest, foraging for food. Palo Alto Baylands.
D300, ISO 400, Sigma 500 f/4.5 with 1.4x converter at f/11, 1/125.

Bill

[BillTyler]

Meant to darken foreground. Here's the update.

[Jasper Doest]

Hi Bill, you got close here. Good job. I'd stick with the original as the darkened version looks a bit unnatural. Regarding the photograph and the bright foreground, if you would have been able to photograph from a lower point of view the bright FG would not have been so dominant and the photograph would have gotten a bit more intimacy. Also the bird would stand out better because of the lower point of view.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Hey Bill, I fully agree with Jasper's comments and suggestions. I too prefer the first as the reworked one's foreground looks too, well, reworked. Cute little fellow...looking very pensive surrounded by his little concentric circles :-)

[BillTyler]

Hi Bill, you got close here. Good job. I'd stick with the original as the darkened version looks a bit unnatural. Regarding the photograph and the bright foreground, if you would have been able to photograph from a lower point of view the bright FG would not have been so dominant and the photograph would have gotten a bit more intimacy. Also the bird would stand out better because of the lower point of view.

Thanks for the comments. I would have liked a lower viewpoint, but at present it's impossible. Most of the year you can go right down to the water's edge and get a very low perspective, but right now there's a yellow police tape barrier, and past that is vegetation. I'm at the lowest angle I can obtain, right at the barrier and just skimming over the tops of the plants. I've been playing with the foreground. This version is still darkened, but not nearly as much.

Bill

[Daniel Cadieux]

Your last repost is the best of the three. The darkening looks much more natural - and thanks for the explanation in regards to the angle.