Crowned Plover Portrait

[Stu Bowie]

I went out this morning to a small nature reserve close to my house.

Canon 50D
100-400 @ 400mm
1/1600
F/6.3
ISO 400

Exp Comp +0.33
Hand held from the car.

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

Sharp, well exposed, great eye, HA. Nice feather detail.

I would be curious to see what it might look like with a bit more of the body showing if you have it, and if so, might also play around with a vertical crop.

Thanks!

Randy

[Art Peslak]

Well exposed shot with good detail in nice light.

[Peter Wallack]

Good Capture. I just see a little bit of difference in your continents plover bill compared to the North American plover species. Interesting.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a lot guys.

Randy, unfortunately, he was too close to get a full body shot, and having a look at the original, there is only a little more below. My objective of this was solely to capture a portrait shot. Thanks for the suggestion for next time.

[denise ippolito]

Stuart, Looks great! Beautiful details and sharpness. I like the BG and the HA. Nicely done.

[Connie Mier]

Very nice Stuart, what an interesting looking bird. The sharpness is right on.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Good detail on this portrait. Interesting to see a yellow eye on a plover - ours are all pretty much dark. I agree with Randy about more body (I don't think he meant including all of it) - had you pulled the zoom back to the 350mm range and then pointed the lens down very slightly that would have been just about perfect. Pleasing BG too, lots of nice warm tones.

[Randy Stout]

Daniel:

Yes, just a bit more body would have kept the impact but given a more pleasing composition to my eye.

Stuart:
When I am working with a zoom, I always try to include a variety of framings, because a looser comp. may give you more options for cropping and other adjustments in post.
Randy

[Dr.Pranay Rao Juvvadi]

The details, BG and light are superb! I would prefer a little less room on the right.

[Elmar Venter]

Really sharp image, catch-light in the eye, super background and feather detail. Suggestions on comp may give this a different feel. Was this at Rietvlei?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Beautiful bird, good sharpness and complementing BG. Another vote for a slightly wider crop.

[David Fletcher]

Beauty of a shot Stu with excellent sharpness. Crop variations already suggested but happy with your presentation and view as you see it. Thanks for sharing.

[Stu Bowie]

Thank you all so much.