Piping Plover

[Bill Dix]

D90; 80-400 VR @ 360 mm; ISO 400; 1/3200 s @ f/6.3; Matrix metering @ -1.3 EV. HH.

This is the second installment in a series of plovers from last week in Florida. Taken a bit later than the Semi-palm posted yesterday, but still several hours before sunset so the light was pretty harsh. A lower angle (belly in the mudflats) would have improved it. C&C appreciated.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Head angle and eye contact look good. You could try to tone down the whites more and I might lighten the eye a bit.

[Joe Senzatimore]

Yes whites seem hot , but still a good capture. I think a low angle would help some as well.

[Bill Dix]

Axel and Joe: Thanks for the comments. Perhaps you could help me understand what I am doing wrong. On the histogram on my machine 99.98% of the image is at 254 or below. So yes, a very few pixels are at 255, but is that enough to make it appear that the whites are "hot"? Should one allow a cushion such that the entire image is well beneath 255 to avoid that appearance? I appreciate your help.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Axel and Joe: Thanks for the comments. Perhaps you could help me understand what I am doing wrong. On the histogram on my machine 99.98% of the image is at 254 or below. So yes, a very few pixels are at 255, but is that enough to make it appear that the whites are "hot"? Should one allow a cushion such that the entire image is well beneath 255 to avoid that appearance? I appreciate your help.

I try to keep the whites in the 220-235 area. Depending on the texture, this way you can usually see some details in the plumage. When converting to sRGB it often appears more overexposed than the TIFF file and having some cushion helps.

[denise ippolito]

Bill, Whites already covered and that's what I try to do-but I do like to keep my whites white. Nice pose and details. I like the composition. You could probably lighten the eye a bit as Axel noted. Nice job handholding.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks Axel, That's helpful information. And thanks Denise.