American Oyster Catcher and Oysters

[Bob Decker]

I completed my usual paddle around the eastern end of Carrot Island in the Rachel Carson Estuarine Reserve yesterday. I then decided to paddle across the North River Channel to try to find the Egret & Heron rookery reported to be in the Middle Marshes area. I found the rookery though very near high-noon. Not exactly the best lighting conditions for shooting big white birds. Plus getting a favorable position in relation to the sun was not exactly an easy task. On my way out of the marshes I came across this oyster bank being worked by an American Oyster Catcher. I took a few shots before making the trip across the channel.

Canon 40D, Bigma @500mm, iso 500, f/8.0, 1/1000, no exposure correction, handheld from inside a kayak. Post includes RAW conversion via CS3, with adjustments to Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation. In PS selective sharpening of the bird, selective noise reduction to the background and a curves adjustment.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Bob, I love the backward glance and the low angle - I also marvel that you can get anything sharp from a kayak! :eek: Colours are very nice too. I might be tempted to tone down the oysters - I feel that they are a little bright. I like the blue in the LLC - it seems to anchor the image nicely.
Best,
Nicki

[Peter Farrell]

Very nice, Bob. You get great low angles from the kayak. I like the rear view with the look back pose. Agree with Nicki about toning down the oysters a bit.
Must be a hefty kayak to support the Bigma:)
Peter

[Bob Decker]

Very nice, Bob. You get great low angles from the kayak. I like the rear view with the look back pose. Agree with Nicki about toning down the oysters a bit.
Must be a hefty kayak to support the Bigma:)
Peter

Typical recrational kayak, 12' length and 29" width. Trust me, I miss my fair share due to water movement... "frame, click, chimp... @#$#@## it's head is off the top of the frame"... :) Of course softenss from motion blurr can be an issue as well. I push iso up to insure a fast shutter speed and often shoot in brighter daylight than I might choose to if shooting on dry land with a tripod. In fact, I probably pay more attention to tide conditions that how close to the golden hours I am for paddle expeditions.

[Lance Peters]

Hi Bob - like the look back pose and the low shooting angle - can only imagine how tough it is shooting from a kayak.
Agree oysters could be toned down a little - also wondering about cropping the blue section from the bottom.
Looking forward to seeing more :)

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Bob - nice one and the water approach opens up many vistas for photography. Love low angle, does the eye pupil look a tad blurred or is it me.

[Bob Decker]

Bob - nice one and the water approach opens up many vistas for photography. Love low angle, does the eye pupil look a tad blurred or is it me.

Oyster Catchers have an interesting eye that, if you're not aware of it, can give the impression of something being off with the pupil in photographs. I've heard it referred to as a "double pupil" though I believe more correctly it's called an eye "fleck"... a dark spot in eye that looks a bit like a second pupil. My understanding is that in the AOC's Pacific cousin, the Black Oyster Catcher, they believe the fleck only occurs in females. I don't know of any studies being done of the Atlantic Coast's AOCs, but there's a chance you're seeing a photo of one of the gals. I know when I photograph these birds I seem to notice the fleck in about 50% (give or take) of the birds. Not particularly scientific but it seems to fit nicely with the sexual trait theory.

I'm adding a close-up that gives a bit of a detailed look at an eye fleck. In this case, the fleck is a little light. I've seen them as black as the pupil. Hope you don't mind the framing & signature. I'd worked this image up for an article on American Oyster Catchers for my blog-site.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Bob, thanks for the info, I had no deal. I try to read every week about birds and have completed several Cornell School of Ornithology classes - this is very interesting.

Thanks again for the info, I will read your blog for more in this regard.