Bar-tailed Godwit

[Jan Wegener]

Hi

Another beauty I really wanted to get in Norway, but I didn't expect it to happen. People told me they were really shy and hard to find....

I found one male one evening far away and we decided to go there the next morning...

Well, this buddy attacked our car while we were driving on a little road to that place.....
He flew down all the way from the top of the mountain to let me take some pictures of him ;)
After about 15 Minutes he lost intrest and flew away...we never found him again...

Guess I was really lucky.... :)

[Tim Kuhn]

I find this one difficult to decide on. I like the colorful rock but it kind of draws my eye from the subject. The two compete for my attention. I like the bird against the background. Congratulations on capturing a subject that is hard to find in your area.

Tim

[Roger Williams]

I agree with Tim. The rock is as interesting as the bird. All in all, I like this image a lot.

roger

[Jan Wegener]

well, all rocks look like this over there, so this is the perfect "little habitat" :)

[Glenn Bartley]

Just stunning Jan. Love the setting, perch, BG and the bird is gorgeous too!

[Gail Yovanovich]

I like the rock very much - it gives a glimpse of where these birds really live, and it's very attractive as well. I might crop a tiny bit from the bottom (about up to the two centered leaves), and mask out the dark vertical twigs on the left (if you're okay with that sort of thing) to deemphasize the rock, then balance with a light crop on the top.

Jan, it's a great shot of this bird - nice pose and comp, soft OOF background, and the open bill gives it some action.

Cheers...Gail.

[D. Robert Franz]

I like the rock. It shows habitat.. Gorgous BG. The open bill is a big plus. The one little OOF twig is a bit distracting in this particular image.. Well done..

[Grady Weed]

The rock, well it rocks! And this bird is all around well done. Good color and nice placement in the frame.

[Arthur Morris]

I fanned on this species in Iceland so I am a bit envious. The only crop I would do would be a small one from the top. I love the rock. The oof focus twig can easily be removed by a variety of methods if that fits with your personal ethics. I would absolutely tone down the saturation of the breast colors. The rock is the bomb! Nice of him to sing to you.

Well done, and later and love, artie

ps: Is it true that the versions of Photoshop sold in Europe do not have the Clone Tool or the Patch Tool? :)

[John Cooper]

What a beautiful capture of this Godwit Jan - not to mention the superb perch!!! I agree with Art regarding a small crop at top and toning down the breast colour. Well done!!

[Tony Whitehead]

This is just lovely Jan. These birds are beginning to change into their breeding plumage down here in anticipation for a long flight north. The habitat here is quite different - hoping to get some pics over the next month or so. The background , rock, colurs, light - all just great

[Jan Wegener]

ps: Is it true that the versions of Photoshop sold in Europe do not have the Clone Tool or the Patch Tool? :)

Well, I use them a lot, so I doubt that....never heard of that...would be crazy !

Red and orange a both colors which are almost impossible to handle on the notebook I am on, so I have to apologize, if the breast colors are a little bit too strong. I am just not able to see if it's good or not on this Vaio...

It's really hard to composite this shot, on a large print it looks fantastic...for the web it's a little bit tricky....
I agree on the black thing, didn't see it, while processing.. :)

[Raymond Barlow]

beautiful image, I like the rock, and nice look at the birds feet.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

The rock and open bill make this one for me. I wouldn't miss the OOF branch in the lower left, either. But there is certainly no rotation necessary. :)

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Great angle,colors,details and BG!!!

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

Very lovely image!!!
I love the timing, the BG and the substratum on which the bird have set foot on.