black-necked stilt reflection

[Allen Hirsch]

Going back through some of my images, I'm finding some I can now do a bit more justice to in pp that I hadn't finished/uploaded previously.

40D + 500L + non-reporting 1.4x on monopod; ISO 800, f4.5, 1/400. pp in Lightroom, small crop, cloned out some spots to get a "clean" surface. This was backlit, so there was no catchlight in its eye, and I didn't think it appropriate to add one.

[WIlliam Maroldo]

Hi Allen. I would have hoped for more detail. The blacks are mostly blocked, a vertical format would have been more appropriate, the inclusion of the imperfect reflection is questionable, and the blue area at the top creates imbalance.
My suggestions on image capture; Proper exposure of the subject here would have completely blown the background, and there is nothing wrong with that. I would expose for the
dark plummage. In high contrast light (bright sunlight) this usually a bad idea since the highlights would be toast, but the shaded side of objects is very low contrast and clipped highlights are not as much a problem. The shaded or backlit side of a subject can be photographed successfully with detail and and a catchlight, but it requires increasing ISO and/or dropping the shutter-speed considerably to compensate for the relative lack of light.
A "point of light" is usually is thought of as a catchlight, but if you examine the eyes in closeups a catchlight is actually a reflection of the environment. Of course a light source, such as the sun or flash, is what we notice, especially when the eye is small in the image, but this reflection exists even without such light sources. If the eye has been exposed properly (not pure black) these catchlights can be
brightened up considerably in post-processing. regards~Bill

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Allen, good points made by Bill here. The biggest problem I see with this image is the lighting. Bright sunlight makes it virtually impossible to expose properly for a bird like this, as the plumage contains both full white and full black. You are caught between exposing for the blacks and protecting the whites and the camera cannot capture that range in harsh light. The fact that the light is behind the bird makes this situation even worse, as there is no light to provide detail in the blacks. What you end up with, as Bill mentions, is a lack of detail in both zones and not much mid-tones at all. The eye is always important and it got lost in the shadows this time. The bright light on the water makes for a distracting background. The best time to capture birds like this is in the very early morning or late evening, when the softer light allows you to maintain details in both black and white feathers. I agree that the reflection isn't helping the composition, due to the ripples in the water.

If practical for you, it would be great to go back to this spot at dawn or dusk and see what you can get. They are really very nice birds to photograph when conditions are right.

[Julie Kenward]

Allen I have to agree with Bill and Kerry on their critiques but there is something I find interesting about this image - the almost high key look it has and the overall feel of the image intrigues me.

You might look at trying to recover some of the blacks in pp and then maybe try a vertical high key look to the image, maybe even taking it to black and white. Without the detail in the blacks, though, it's never going to be all it can be. You lose the face/eye because of them and that keeps the viewer from making that important connection with the subject.

[Allen Hirsch]

Thanks for the feedback.

I knew this wasn't up to snuff on the technicals, but like Jules, I thought there was something almost high-key and ethereal to it that I liked (including the reflection).

This is from a site I can go to again easily, and work for better light.

[Kerry Perkins]

Allen, great that you can go back to the site. These little birds are definitely worth the effort.

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice pose but the image is too soft. Kerry advise is spot-on!

Proper lighting on the eye and detail in the body should be sharp. On a good note, you have found a great place to shot - go back with soft light. Also, when I had a 40D never pushed the ISO over 400,..but thats me.