Ibis Assembly

[susanschermer]

I find it increasingly difficult to create bird photographs that are unusual. I thought I'd try this one on you very severe critics. Captured from Jame's Shadle's boat in Tampa Bay. Very harsh sunlight.

1D Mark III, 500 f/4 IS lens, ISO 400, f/5, 1/8000l.

[Ofer Levy]

I like this. Excellent exposure control and beautiful colours.

[D. Robert Franz]

I agree abut finding unusual comps. I thnk it's a worthy goal. Love the repetiveness of the subjects fading in the distance. Nice light and the red beaks really grab your attenition. The only bird that bothers me is the bird lower right thats slightly cropped. I know these flock shots are tough but you did very well.

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Susan,

I like this for the same reasons D. Robert Franz mentions. You specifically mention harsh light; in my opinion you handle it very well. If you hadn't mentioned it I not sure my mind would have registered it as being "very harsh". Robert mentioned the clipped bird on the our right (although with a crowd like this the changes of not clipping would be small). If you have it I might add a little on the bottom so not to clip the virtual feet of the one bird. Well done! I would be happy if this were mine. Thanks for sharing.

[Julie Brown]

Susan, I love the your composition and the colors in this image. The lead bird is the focal point for me and I like how my eye is drawn back until you get to the OOF birds.

This reminds me of the starting line of a triathlon!:)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Susan, these shots are tough. I struggled a lot with snow geese shots few months back. You have handled the light very well. I like the pattern. This must have been quite a sight.

How big is this crop? If you can crop more, I'd suggest going tighter and removing a healthy portion from the right. Those birds on the right and that empty space there distracts the bit from the tight center and left side.

[Morkel Erasmus]

I like this a lot. great context given here. I might tone down the whites another notch.

[david cramer]

A really lovely image with good exp and dof.

[Jory Griesman]

I like what you've done with the image, overall. Tend to agree with Kaustubh, re: crop. I'd like to see what it would look like incorporating only the in focus birds in the front, along with the OOF behind. Or, perhaps more major surgery, if you are so licensed: replacing the bird just to our right of the central in focus ibis with the one in the right foreground, and just cropping a bit off the right.