This is my first time shooting this species. After looking it up in Sibley's I am going to say it is a Greater Yellowlegs because of the slight up turned bill. Taken early this afternoon under partly cloudy skies in Poquoson, VA. Sony A700, 70-400G, f8, 1/1600, iso800, ec +0.3
PP in PSE8, levels, curves, usm. The remains of his lunch is at his feet. He was raising his leg to scratch his head.
Yes you got the ID correct, simply by the bill's shape and size (as you point out).
Good pose overall. I like the raised foot. Light angle isn't best, and this has created a shadow on the breast. There is also colour noise on said breast...did to you need to bring the shadows up in PS? Comp a bit tucked up in URC so I recropped in a way that I feel makes the image stronger There is a magenta cast on the yellowlegs which I got rid of by completely desaturating the magenta channel and then tweaking the colour balance to taste. Hope you like...
Thanks, Daniel. I do like your crop and treatment on the legs better. I did work on the shadow some but I did not like the results I was getting so I left it alone.
Peter
Yes, an excellent repost by Daniel. The BLACKs and midtones could go a bit BLACKER. Best to use Selective Color for those changes. I too like the raised foot.
Is that a bleached out crab shell near the bird? Whatever it is is a big distraction. The bird chose an unfortunate spot to park itself.
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