Morning Run

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

D3 200/f2 + TC17EII (340mm) f/6.3 1/1600 +0.33EV ISO1600 Matrix, bright horizontal morning light, HH cropped to ~75% of original
ETTR probably at limit but whites needed a lot of help in pp to exhibit detail, toned down bg, detail, nr on bg

Fast little group of sanderlings (I think that's right) provided a lot of entertainment this morning.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Melissa Groo]

Nice capture of this sweet bird and beautiful light, Michael. Did you see what straightening it might look like?

[Lance Peters]

Hi Michael - Id be tempted to lose some of the OOF foreground - a Pano crop could possibly work well here also. The white highlights in the BG do draw attention away from the subject.
Like the pose and the warm sweet light.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Melissa, Lance,

Thanks, your comments are much appreciated.

Melissa, I tried to level this with the actual out-of-scene horizon... the peep is running slightly uphill and the wet sand line and waves make for false horizons. Sigh. Don't know a good approach for this, but I see your point.

This was a thought, from both your comments. I have the subject at the other third, but I got a bit of a smile from this crop. What do you think?



Cheers,

-Michael-

[Maureen Allen]

A different crop, for sure Michael. I love it. This is how I usually see sanderlings, scurrying away!

[Melissa Groo]

I really like the repost!

[Johan Kruger]

Also like your repost. I met these little fellows about 2 weeks ago when I was at Illovo beach on Natal south coast. Not all that easy to photograph them when they not in the mood :)

[Lance Peters]

Hi Michael - repost is a little unconventional in regards to the composition.... (more space behind the bird than in front)
That said - works for me in this instance!!

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Maureen, Melissa, Johan, Lance,

Thanks much for your kind words. And Melissa & Lance, I probably wouldn't have looked for the second version without your comments. I'm pretty happy with the story it presents.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Dan Brown]

Hi Michael. I really prefer the second post also. The OOTB comp and and crop along with the long thin shadow make it for me! In the OP, the birds in the BG are distracting to me. I do wish for a clean bill however. Good rework!

[Alan Lillich]

I like the overall feel, but here's a recrop that I like better. I rotated 2 degrees ccw and made a tighter, wider angle crop. Not quite Lance's pano suggestion. More trying to get rid of some extraneous fg, and balance the subject with the 3 bg birds. Otherwise the focus and exposure are great. The basic subject posture is nice, but I'm not sure if I prefer the bird's rear foot to be up or down.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Alan,

Greetings. Thanks posting for the crop suggestion. The majority of the comments here and in my thread on a black-bellied plover seem to favor evicting bright sanderlings in the background. I do see the point that they are distracting, though it's less of a slam dunk to my eye.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Alan Lillich]

I could agree with someone wanting to darken the bg birds somewhat. But I like them there for the sense of environment. They are so oof that they aren't distracting to me.