Who's that handsome bird in the pond?

[David Stephens]

American avocet, right at the point of impact, going for a bug.



Canon 7D
EF 500mm f/4L IS
EF 1.4x TC II
Induro C414 tripod, Wimberley Sidekick on Arca-Swiss Z1 ballhead
ISO 400
-1EV
f/8 Aperture Priority
Resulting in 1/2500-sec
RAW conversion with DxO's Optics Pro, with about a 20% crop and curves pulled down just a little in the middle.

Taken about 25-minutes after sunrise, at Cherry Creek State Park, just South of Denver. I was shooting bursts, hoping to get a neat splash or a bug capture, but this lucky image, right at the cusp of entry into the water was the happy surprise in the series. There's strong light coming from behind the bird, still low in the sky.

The original, full sized jpeg is here http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/4569013545/sizes/o/ for anyone that wants to look.

Thanks for looking and suggestions are welcome.

Dave

[Harold Davis]

i think the light angle is the problem i am having with it. i was thinking it was dark, but actually it's just the shadows are in some of the key places of the bird, ie the chest. as is, i might put a catchlight in the eye and clone out the two specular highlights on the bill.

with the right light angle and some perfectly calm water this one would be a big time winner!! it already has a peaceful mood that i really like!

[Peter Farrell]

I like the pose, calm water and the ripples behind the bird. But overall I feel the image is too dark.
Peter

[Alfred Forns]

Hi David Sure wish you were on the other side of that bird !!! Image is under exposed as presented, normally shooting backlit subjects without a flash you don't want to under expose the subject !!

Glad you didn't try lightening the bird since it would have made a mess !! Darks get funny looking !!

[David Stephens]

Thanks for looking and commenting guys.

Al, of course I was worried about blowing out those whites on a black and white bird. Hence, the -EV. So your suggesting that in this strong light that I keep my exposure the same and add flash?

By the way, the strong sunlight is coming obliquely from the bird's right backside (tail), not from the other side of the bird. I may have said that in a confusing way before. If I'd been on the other side, it would have been full shadow.

Dave

[Lance Peters]

Hi David - agree with all of the above comments - if you cant line the sun up at your back to give even illumination - then fill flash will help fill in the shadows - with harsh light you are going to need lots of flash and in a situation like this HSS flash - you will also need a better beamer - a such high shutter speeds the flash effect is going to be minimal depending on your distance to the subject.
Check out Arties blog for great info on flash use.
:)