African Black Oystercatcher

[Mark Dumbleton]

I spent some time down in the Cape, South Africa in December 2009 shooting mainly landscapes, but also spent time shooting some birdlife. I managed to capture this image at Betty's Bay. I cleaned up the BG and removed some dirt from the bill.

Nikon D3
Nikon AF-S 600 f/4 VR
ISO 400
f/6.3
1/2500sec

I havnt had much time recently for BPN due to work, but hopefully that will change and I can contribute more again.

[RakeshDhareshwar]

Love the wing pose and the exposure here . But somehow , I feel a horizontal compo would work wonders here .

[Steve Kaluski]

Fantastic wing detail Mark, another little corker of an image.:)

TFS
Steve

[Hendri Venter]

Expertly exposed showing very good detail in the blacks. Cracking image Mark.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Lovely Image indeed, Great expo here Mark, the sharpness is good,pose works well and loved the light too.. also would be tempted to try a horizontal crop..

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Mark, I think both horizontal and vertical will work. Vertical is working because of those rocks. They are creating good balance. That is also making it a "different" image. Well done. The bird is beautiful and stands out on that BG. Superb black details. Thx for sharing.

[Mark Dumbleton]

Thank you for all the comments. I feel the vertical crop here works better, but have no doubts a horizontal crop can work as well. I strive for different images, and as Kaustubh said, I like the balance of the rocks at the bottom of the image. I appreciate all the input!

[Doug Brown]

Great wing position and eye contact. Love the detail in the blacks. I could go either way on the crop. Nicely done!

[Jay Tan]

Very nicely exposed and love the wing details.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Mark, my fav marine bird, and you have exposed him perfectly. I like the light IQ in this, sharp, and as you said either comp would work. As you have posted a vertical, it works for me.

[arash_hazeghi]

Awesome wing positions, details and sharpness, black detail is perfect. congrats

[Bonnie Block]

This is a fantastic image---agree with those for the horizontal crop.
Love the details and colors

[Gerrie van Vuuren]

Like the pose & the blacks are well exposed with good detail. Crop works well as is, but agree landscape will also do!:)

[Mark Dumbleton]

Many thanks for all the input folks!