American Avocet With Chicks

[Ian Cassell]

Canon 7D
Canon EF 400 f/5.6L
1/1000sec f/7.1 ISO 200 Handheld

Crop, levels, sharpening and cloning of debris with CS5
NR on BG in Noiseware Pro

I loved the extra legs on the RH adult (two chicks hiding underneath)

[Brendan Dozier]

What a great family interaction shot, Ian. Nice soft light and color, and like the eye contact between the two adults. The still water provides a nice BG, and the mud in FG provides a nice diagonal leading line. Seems like it could be just a tad brighter, but nicely done!

[Kerry Perkins]

Very cute Ian. I think the little ones on the right are hiding behind dad. The female has the slightly more curved bill so she can turn the eggs, what a great design... Kind of hard to tell from the angles though. I agree with Brendan about the overall level - could bump up the middle slider in levels to give it a bit more pop.

[Ian Cassell]

Thanks, folks, and I did brighten it up at your suggestion. Yes, Kerry, that's pop on top. It's interesting, because the parents took turns hiding the little ones. I have some images with mom and some with dad.

[Kerry Perkins]

Ian, these are great birds to observe and photograph! They seem to be really good parents and share the workload quite nicely. When they are nesting, the male will come over to the nest from time to time and let mom get out to stretch her wings. Very cute birds.