Very strong light to deal with here, Michael. Nice documentary image, I didn't know the eggs could be so big.
I don't know if it was possible for you to get a lower angle that would minimize the distracting BG. Of course, that would partiality cover the eggs, can't have everything, can you?
You handled the EXP nicely considering the light and agree on darkening the reeds via curves or Burn tool.
Will be looking forward to more.
Interesting to see the habitat they are nesting in. A lower angle might have been good but the OOF reed in the foreground might have been in front of bird or eggs.
Thanks for all of the comments. I "found" the nest when I accidentally spooked mom off of the nest as I was passing through the NWR during an unplanned visit. I was on a road that ran parallel to the strip of downed reeds that she was nesting on. The road was about 3' above the nest which gave me a view down into it (tripod was set at about 3'). The foreground reed was very frustrating to see when I first looked through the viewfinder but I had a more pressing issue on my mind and I chose to sit quietly at my chosen spot instead. Mom was not going to come back as long as I was milling around trying to set the shot up better than what I had. Before setting up I set a 5 minute timer in my phone. If she hadn't come back within the time limit time I was going to leave the nest and be thankful that I had the opportunity to see what I had seen. Luckily she chose to return once I sat down and stopped moving. I didn't have camo or a blind with me otherwise I think I could have done better with this setup.
Nesting Black-necked Stilt
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