This little oystercatcher chick was photographed at Nickerson Beach in Long Island last month. Apparently, he had lost his mom and unfortunately, may not have lived to see another day. Technical details: Photographed with Canon 1D Mark III, F 7.1 at 1/1000 sec, ISO 500. This is my first post and I would love comments, good or bad, and to know if there is anything that I can do to improve this image.
Betty, Big welcome to BPN! Glad you took the plunge. I am thinking this is a Skimmer chick. I like the awesome pose and the sharp details. You could tone down a tiny bit of the whites on the neck and ground but just a couple(they do not appear hot-but they draw your eye) Excellent first post and an adorable chick!! You took this with the 500mm right? Did you use a TC?
Last edited by denise ippolito; 08-19-2010 at 12:43 PM.
you know, you are right! It is an skimmer chick and I had mislabeled it. Duh - way to go on my first post. Thanks so much for the feedback and I was also thinking that the whites were a tad bit bright. Yes, I did shoot this with the 500mm using a 1.4 x teleconverter.
Hi Betty - big warm welcome to BPN - do not hesitate to jump right in and leave comments on other peoples images, no better or 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 and a cute little guy to boot!
Techs look good and the pose is lovely. Agree with Denise's points and I would consider a little more sharpening to the eye - for my personal tastes I would crop some from the top, doing so would put the eye closer to a ROT point (Rule of thirds)
Hey Betty,
Yes I lurk in here too! Glad you took the plunge and jumped in! For future posts on BPN.....just put a slim border around the image when the BG is white or greyish......it tend to bleed into the BG.....nothing you did....just works that way so a defined edge helps eliminate that. Remember....really only necessary for posting here and excellent tweak advice given above! Lance is also correct.....you learn quickly when you comment.....even if you are unsure it helps for you to look closely at an image and that will only help you in your own photography!!!
Really nice first post and welcome to the forums!!!
Hi Betty , Glad you chose one of these skimmer chicks as your first post. Looks like he is waiting for mom or dad to bring him some breakfast. Agree with others comments, hopefully these little guys are flying by now. Looking forward to seeing more.
Betty, the first thing I noticed was the low angle and the soft fluff of the baby chic's feathers. For my taste, I'd take some from the top and add some to the left side so he doesn't feel quite so "boxed in" to the frame. I think either a square or horizontal presentation might work here if you have the extra room.
One thing I always look for is at least a spec of pure black if some black is present. I think in this case your eye could use a little more black to it - try selecting it and then doing an auto curves adjustment on a separate layer and see what you think. I believe it will give you a bit more pop right at his face, drawing the viewer in even more.
Hi Betty, Welcome to this site. I agree with most of the comments above and would a change in the background. Possibly try changing the background by selecting the backround and dropping the white down a little more. This will make the chick standout a little more. Right now the chick tends to blend in to the background.
Great first photo. You must have been laying down to get such a great eye level shot.
Oystercatcher chick
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