Pied-billed grebe

[wendell westfall]

D 70s 70-200VR+2X@400 1/1250 f/5.6 ISO500 0EV handheld

This morning I watched this little guy diving for quite awhile; he either caught nothing or consumed it before he came up. But i thought the wet feathers looked real nice and also the reflection. In LR I adjusted WB, cropped a bit, used Clarity and Vibrance. Then in Elements I cloned a wee bit of shadowy vegetation in the lower right corner and selectively ran NR twice on the water and the reflection, then USM once on the bird. C&C appreciated.

Wendell

[Bill Dix]

Nicely done, Wendell. I find it very hard to get anywhere near these guys. Detail and exposure look good on my screen, although I might try to tone down the hot spot on the flank at waterline.

[Kerry Perkins]

Nice capture Wendell! I hope you don't mind, but I did a little clean-up of the water, added some saturation, toned down the hot spots, and lightened the eye just a tad. Good job and I hope you like the tweaks! :)

[William Malacarne]

Wendell, very good job on the exposure and composition. Also has a very nice reflection. These picture that you have been taking the last few weeks, have they been at Bolsa Chica?

[wendell westfall]

William, yes, most of my pictures are taken at Bolsa Chica, but not all of them. Some others are from the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, the Back Bay at Newport Beach, the seashore at Corona del Mar, etc . . .

Kerry, I appreciate your taking the time you did. I like it, especially the increased saturation. Thanks.

[Mark Theriot]

Great shot!! What would you think of decreasing the "head room" a little on the crop? That would take the torso a little more off center?? (BTW - I'm asking because I'm learning myself!!)

Mark

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Love the look on the wet feather too. The HA, the catch light and the reflection look good too. I also like how you selective run NR on the background and selective sharpen on the bird only. Kerry repost make this even better.

[wendell westfall]

Mark, on this one I still prefer the way I cropped it, though ultimately it is a matter of taste, I think. But post processing is an art I've yet to master. Kerry's treatment is a good example: I could not see that my image "needed" saturation until he applied it; now I can't "see" it any other way. I'm sure you will agree that BNP is a great site to learn to improve one's work (or play) . . .

[Katie Rupp]

Nice capture of the Pied-billed Grebe, Wendell. I like the reflection and the "wet" look and of course you have a great HA. Nicely done!

[Gus Cobos]

Wendell,
I like the capture very much...the exposure is good and you have good details, love the reflection...good show...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Great Job on the repost Kerry !!! .. agree on a little of the top as suggested by Mark !!

These guys are hard to capture, light was on the marginal side but you came up with a good exposure !! I like the eye contact a lot !!!