This morning I found this guy hopping along the beach, alone. The image is Cropped, with NR and Sharpening applied. A very small area of the whites is still a bit hot. By the way, I had never before noticed the small, distinctly black (untouched in PP) "toenails".
Hi Wendell - some of the whites are on the edge - might try to recover via a linear burn/multiply layer.
BG is not all that flattering - so might consider cropping some from the top.
Good HA and eye contact.
Looking forward to seeing more :)
Hi Wendell. There's some nice detail to be found in this shot. As Lance said, the whites are on the edge. A light application of "Shadows/Highlights" might bring out some more detail in the whites...or try the methods Lance suggested. Other than the whites the biggest thing I notice is the angle of view. It looks as if you're towering over the bird. Kneeling or even bellying-down might've produced a nicer POV. I'm learning/noticing that the difference between a good image and a great one is often a matter of whether the photographer got down to eye level with the subject before pressing the shutter release. Sharp eye, good detail in the middle-grey areas of the body, a nice catch light.. plenty to like here.
wendell, shadow could indicate high contrast light. Agree with comments above, both Lance and Bob nailed the opportunities to improve. I really agree with the lower perspective. IMO, when we shot birds at their eye level we can see their world as they do. It make a huge difference in the composition - when we can take a lower position.
Hi Wendall, Agree with above comments. One way to tell the approximate time of day an image was taken is the length of the shadow a subject gives off. Looks like a long shadow here so early light was still apparant.
I see you shot this without any exposure comp. Might be good to check this periodically as the light changes...
Thanks to all . . . !!!
Lance -- the crop does make it look better.
Bob -- S/H worked . . . I was on my knees but was on a path high above the bird, and could not have got lower.
Jeff -- Yes, the light was "contrasty". It was early and in what passes for winter sun in SOCAL.
Dave -- The image was taken at 7:36AM. And you are right, I should have dialed in some minus EV.
Alfred -- Though old in years, I'm very young to bird photography and still working on an extensive collection of full-frame lores and testes images :o;):D
Killdeer portrait
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