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Thread: Semipalmated Sandpiper on kelp bed

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    Default Semipalmated Sandpiper on kelp bed



    D300
    500VR + 1.7X
    1/640th @ f9
    ISO 320
    -0.3EV
    full frame. processed in NX2 and also had to clone out piece of seaweed and a OOF fly in CS4.

    thanks for looking!

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    I like the pose with the raised leg. I can't make up my mind if the image would be a little stronger if the head was angled a little more toward us (not bad as is). Your exposure and sharpness looks good to me. I do find the out of focus kelp/seaweed behind the bird a little distracting. I tried selectively blurring the out of focus kelp/seaweed a little more and then reducing the vibrance and saturation a little. I think it helped the bird stand out more ( would have posted the rework but I am working on my laptop and I butchered the edges). Thanks for sharing.

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    Lovely low angle, pose and focus. Agree with Phil regarding the BG seaweed and would explore his suggestions re blurring and desaturating and probably add a bit of dodging to the mix to help it recede further into the BG
    Tony Whitehead
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    Scott I am not quite as bothered by the seaweed behind the bird as much as the others except for that big yellowish piece right below the bird in the bg. Other than that I like this a bunch.

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    Hi Scott, I agree with the comments above. An in-the-field option would have been to have gotten so low as to hide the rear kelp shelf in front of the one that the bird is on (if possible). That would have yielded a clean BKGR.

    Where and when was this image taken? If you have one that shows this bird in full profile, please post it here.
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    nice pose an details of bird, agreed with suggations above
    TFS
    Last edited by Harshad Barve; 09-27-2009 at 06:52 AM.

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    Thank you for commenting Phil, Tony, Matt, Arthur and Harshad.

    Phil, i do agree about the OOF seaweed and i would have liked to see your revision. my biggest bother as mentioned by Matt is the bright yellowish piece behind the leg. it was really hot in the original and i've already pushed it quite a bit to reduce its obtrusiveness.

    Arthur, this was taken in Gros Morne National Park in western Newfoundland, Canada on the 6th of Sept.

    if i remember correctly i had to shoot slightly higher than the mound of seaweed you see in front of the bird. to be honest i found it extremly hard to shoot these little birds unless they were resting. when they on the move they didn't stop and getting nice clean backgrounds was very tough for me.

    After reading your request and looking more at the second image i begin to wonder. Is this a white rumped?


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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks Scott. I think that this is simply a worn juvenile female (the long bill) Semipalmated Sandpiper that is doing its best to look like several different species. The bill which is quite tall at the base is suggests Western but nothing else fits for that species. In the first image the bird looks rather long-winged and suggests either Baird's or White-rumped. The lack of a buffy breast band and buffy face would rule out Baird's. The lack of an orange base to the lower mandible and the pattern of light streaking on the breast as well as several other features rule out juvie White-rumped. In the first image the toes look un-webbed but that is because the toes are held together.

    The bird is surely a moderately worn juvenile and likely a semi-sand.
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    Arthur,

    thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed explanation of species ID.

    i would love to have 1% of the knowledge in your brain!

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    Thanks Scott. Do realize that I might be wrong with this one. You can gain access to 87% of my shorebird knowledge by getting a copy of my Shorebirds; Beautiful Beachcombers:
    https://store.birdsasart.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=32
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

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    just slightly ahead of you on the book Arthur. i bought one just a short time ago from BAA. :)

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    Publisher Arthur Morris's Avatar
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    No wonder you're so smart !
    BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.

    BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.

    Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,

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