KILLDEER

[gary ellwein]

I had the opportunity to position myself below the subject. My usual killdeer images are from an elevated camera position. Nikon D200, Nikkor 200-400mm, TC 1.4, 540mm, f6.3, 1/320, iso 400, matrix, manual, tripod. PS levels, H/S bg sky, toned down whites and selective sharpening of subject, blurred foregroung grass. Considered cleaning the beak, but didn't C & C appreciated.

Gary

[Ian Cassell]

Very nice low angle/high key shot, Gary. Nice and sharp. It's a bit tough to be sure on my computer here at work, but your whites might be a little hot just below his wing. The beak looks fine to me.

[John Goldman]

The low angle works very well for me, head angle, eye contact, all good, nothing not to like here. I would not tidy up the beak.

[Ian Cassell]

Just got home and the whites look fine on my calibrated monitor ... just goes to show ya'

:)

[Kerry Perkins]

Gary, super job to get down low and use this perspective! Makes for a really nice portrait. Thumbs up all around for this one - excellent exposure, color balance, detail, head angle, and background. Did I leave anything out? Oops, I did - nice composition. I really like the high-key look and the inclusion of just a bit of the habitat. I think there might be even a bit more detail lurking in this image and would try a very light round of sharpening as an experiment. Excellent work Gary!

[Paul Guris]

I like the shot for all the reasons mentioned above, but I think it may be cropped just a bit too hard. There's some noise in the undertail and tail feathers. I think loosening the crop a bit might improve the overall IQ without losing any effectiveness of a very nice pose.