Black-bellied Plover

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

D3 200f2 + TC17EII (340mm) f/6.3 1/1600 +0.33EV ISO1600 Matrix early morning light HH

Detail, contrast, sharpening, Lab curves, tone down sanderlings in bg.

ID by similar in Avian: Identification Forum.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Dan Brown]

Hi Michael. I like the comp, the shadows and the plover ha, sharpness and exp but the sanderlings are way too hot for me! They really draw my eye. I don't know if you can rescue them from the "blown whites" state, but it would be worth a try. Maybe you could use a strong dose of shadow/highlight selectively on them?

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Dan,

Greetings. Thanks for the critique. About the sanderlings... You should see them before I toned them down ;) ... They're actually not blown (245 toned down to 200) but I understand the impression... mostly it's just that they are white in bright sun and oof in the bg. Strange but true, the whites on the plover are much hotter, up at about 245 (the same level as the sanderlings were untouched).

Hmm... what to do. I like the comp with the comparable size expressed in the shadows, but are the sanderlings just too distracting?

Okay, how's this? Using Lab mode curves: toned down further (in L to 74 from 80 in OP, 95 in capture):



Cheers,

-Michael-

[Dan Brown]

Hi Michael. The repost is much better and I really like this comp! But, the sanderlings may just be too distracting being oof and bright:(. This ofcourse is IMHO:o! Hopefully others will chime in here with fresh perspectives!

[Melissa Groo]

I like the comp of this, but even in the repost I feel that the sanderlings are still too distracting and it might be worthwhile seeing if you could clone them out? Just seems like they rob the plover of his/her glory.

[Bill Dix]

Hi Michael. Repost is better on the Sanderlings, but I would vote for evicting them, or at least making a duplicate without them to see how it looks. Lovely light on the Plover.

[Mark Young]

Another vote for cloning the oof Sanderlings, which would bring the focus back onto the Plover.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Okay, so poof go the sanderlings ;)



I guess sanderlings are pretty hard to include in backgrounds. Thanks, all, for the comments.

Cheers,

-Michael-