(Not 100% sure of my ID)
Taken yesterday AM along the Chesapeake Bay, First Landing State Park, Virginia Beach, VA. Very cold and windy, partly cloudy, laying down in the sand.
Sony A700, 70-400G @400mm, f5.6, 1/5000, iso400, -0.7 ec, aperture priority. 70% of FF,
PP in PSE8, levels, curves, USM.
Does the line of foam through the birds body hurt the image?
I like the foam, as it helps establish the environment he lives in, but agree that it would be better if it didn't cut through the body. You probably couldn't go any lower, but that would have helped throw the foam lower in the frame. Or, if you have another frame with good pose where the foam had moved, that might be an option as well.
I am at work, where my monitor isn't reliable, but the whites on the breast appear a bit hot.
I like the angle in the frame, pose of feet, sun angle give just a little shading to the rump to round him out a bit.
Hello Peter,
I do like the angle that you captured the subject. The foam running through the bird wasn't something that would have bothered me, until you mentioned it. But I really don't find it too distracting and it does help to establish where the bird is. Nice sharp image with good light - a few whites on the breast appear just a tad hot (to me). Very nice!
Kevin
Thank you Randy and Kevin for your comments. I agree that a portion of the whites in the chest look hot.
Here is a screen shot out of ACR, before any adjustments. Should I have shot with more negative exposure compensation?
Peter
Hello Peter,
The histogram looks pretty good, so perhaps it's my monitor as well. I usually just hold down the alt/option key while clicking on the exposure triangle (in ACR) to check for hi-lites that need adjustment. If so, then I start with increasing the Recovery a bit.
Regards,
Kevin
I like it and don't think the whites look too hot, especially for a beach bird. If this was a bird perched in shrubs I'd feel differently. And I wouldn't have even noticed the line if you hadn't pointed it out. It's simply a natural feature to me. Finally, I love that you caught its feet in slick water but the bird is actually surrounded by foam.
Paul
You stole my thunder, I looked at the picture and a brownish peep with a black down-turned bill is a Dunlin. I like the capture sharp, and I do not mind the surf in the background
Color Cop and the screen capture don't indicate anything blown out. The hottest I could find was high 240's.
I sometimes check others photos to get an idea for myself and I think some try to keep whites down in 230's or so. Perhaps that is why whites appear bright.
I had noticed surf line and was going to mention it, but it appears to be a personal thing.
I checked the whites on my calibrated monitor at home, and they look bright, but not blown, so I apologize for the miscall, based on my work monitor.
I would however consider running a selection on the whitest areas and using the multiply mode try to bring out a bit more of the detail in the breast/flank area.
Thanks Randy. Certainly nothing to apoligize for. I am in agreement with you on the whites. Thanks for the reccomendation on how to bring out the details.
Peter
Sanderling
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