Hi Al - big warm welcome to BPN - Dont hesitate to jump right in and leave comments on other peoples images - no better of faster way to improve your own skills - all we ask is that you say what it is you like or dont like about the image.
Nice first post.
Ill reserve my comments until others have had a chance to comment!
Welcome to BPN AL and congrats on your first post. Terrific flight shot with great eye contact. Would like to see a little more canvas on the left side. Did you get the other wing up in other frames as it looks like he was beginning to bank left? If this were mine I would have him a little higher in the frame as there is only one wing visible. Exposure and details make this a really nice capture. You will learn a lot from the Moderators and the many members....they are great, and everyone has different tastes, opinions and skills. Welcome again.
" In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks" - John Muir
I'm at my work monitor so feel free to disregard my first comment- There seems to be a halo around the bird. Any PP'ing that would have caused this?
As Ken alluded to, it would be nice to see the other wing. I think the exposure was nicely handled- whites and blacks both look well controlled with detail. It's sharp and love the eye contact. Have you tried any other crops? I'm thinking a wider crop with less room on top would do nicely.
G'day Al, welcome to the site. You've chosen a great subject for your first post. Shorebirds really are the best group of birds to photograph. ;)
I really like the angle of the bird here. The eye contact is always good to have. I like the wingspread on the near side and would loved to have seen the same on the far side as well.
I also see the halo as well. This can be generated by using Shadows and Highlights in PS, not sure if that's the cause here but something to be wary off.
Big Warm Welcome Al !!! ... will be hard to forget your name :)
First thing I saw was the halo, does jump out at you !!! Most common cause is lightening the bird and sharpening ..or combination of the two !! The compensation looks fine, did you take it from the sky? .. that would make one over which should have given you good shadow detail. Got the whites right a the edge as they should.
btw which editing version of PS are you using? With shadow highlight makes a difference and noise wise also !!! Tough bird to capture !!! Did Well !!!
Thanks for your critiques on my posting. They were all very helpful and encouraging. Here's a reworked version on the OC and a description of the process.
1) I used the cloning tool, in PSE 6.0, I tried to remove the halo around the bird. The halo may have come from me adding some blue into the sky. During that process I selected the entire photo then, deselected the bird and added the color.
2) I copied and pasted more of the sky into a wider canvas, to give the bird more room in the photo.
Oyster Catcher in Flight
" In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks" - John Muir
