Willet

[Christian Dionne]

Very foggy day in San Francisco last Thursday, I was by the marina next to Crissy Field and saw this little guy, he was not really afraid of me and got a decent shot at 270mm.
Light was incredibly soft.
Very slight crop to recompose.



270mm
f/8
1/500
ISO400
manual focus

Thanks for your comments!

[Scott Frye]

Good job of getting detail in both the whites and blacks -- I like the slightly leaning forward pose as it shows an action about to take place. Nice picture

[Randy Stout]

Christian:

Lovely light, sharp, drip, pose, all good.
Might consider sliver more room on left, a bit tight for my taste.

I also might try a version with a bit more contrast on the bird alone. I love the light, but wish he had just a bit more snap.

However, that might give the image a different feel, and not be what you are looking for.

Cheers

Randy

[Joe Senzatimore]

You captured the feel of the fog and mist. Just a bit tight on the tail. Love the detail in the bird.

[Ilija Dukovski]

I like the it very much, the detail on the plumage and
nice sharp bill alltogether with the water drop is really nice.
I would probably clone out the dark parts just to the right of the
bird, matter of taste, looks good as presented too.

[Katie Rupp]

I love the soft color and the amazing detail; I'm undecided about adding a bit more contrast as I agree it might change the lovely mood. more room if you have it.

[Christian Dionne]

Thank you all!
Yes I do have a little more room on the left and, looking back on it, I do agree that it is a little too tight...

As far as contrasts, I did push it a lot already as this was a REALLY foggy shot and would like to keep the mood as is...

I did think about cloning the dark to the right of the bill but at the same time it gives a sense on dimension, on an otherwise a plain gray BG. Maybe cloning SOME out could help...

Thanks!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Like how the whole bird is sharp. Very good feather details. Considering the conditions, very impressive contrast. Lower angle would have been better but not sure if it was possible. You must have been really close.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I would definitely remove the dark spots near the bill...there are already enough ripples/wavelets/reflections to make the surroundings work. As Kaustubh mentions, a lower angle if possible would have been great. I like the post-processing comprise you settled for to portray the foggy conditions you had. Nice detail, and I love the eye...did you selectively lighten the iris? (if so, way to go!).

[Christian Dionne]

Lower angle would have been better but not sure if it was possible. You must have been really close.

I was as low I could go without laying in the muddy banks (which I could not do at that time...)

I love the eye...did you selectively lighten the iris?

I had to otherwise the willet was looking kinda soulless... cranked up the contrast (+31%) and the brightness (+42%) to highlight the iris and the reflection of the sky (PP selectively on the iris and not the pupil).

I use Nikon NX2 to do most of my PP work.

Thank you guys, I appreciate your comments.