Snowy Plover

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

D3 200f2 + TC17EII (340mm) 1/2000 @ f/5.6, matrix, early morning sun. Probably underexposed about 1/2 stop for whites, boosted midtones in PS (LAB curves).
Allowed me to crawl up on my stomach to about 10 ft. (flirted with me, I fell in love )

Morrow Bay, CA (ocean beach).

Thanks for looking...

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Kerry Perkins]

Hi Michael, Morro Bay is a great place for birding and photography and one of my favorites! Nice to see a shot from there. What a cute little snowy. You absolutely must underexpose (if you are considering the whole scene) a bit for birds with white on them. Good job with this one.

I find the OOF stuff in the foreground distracting and would rather see that cropped away to make a super pano. Sweet image, I really like it!

[Stan Cunningham]

I agree with Kerry on the cropping of the foreground, but great shot.

[Ian Cassell]

Oh wow, Michael. I'm going to be at Avila Beach at the beginning of June and plan to hit Morro Bay (as well as the Elephant Seal rookeries). I've never been there. Now that I see this image, I can't wait! Very nice exposure on the little guy and his HA is good. I would crop out that OOF stuff in the foreground, as it is quite distracting. The BG is pretty.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Kerry, Stan, Ian,

Thanks much for your comments. I'll work on the foreground.

I've been a bit off the birds for a few months and this trip was a reminder of how much I enjoy shooting birds. Morrow Bay was spectacular for birds (& just beautiful otherwise). I'll post some more from there.

Ian, when you go... there is a great spot I'll share with you - on the North edge of MB on 1 there is a stop light for San Jacinto St. There is a residential community there (something like Cloisters?). Anyway, besides a nice parking area w/beach access there is a small reserve with a pond... only path access but when I was there early morning there were lots & lots of subjects. The beach stretches for miles (seemingly) in either direction. Have a great time...

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Brendan Dozier]

Great looking bird and nice capture, Michael. Nice placement in the frame, and like how the BG colors compliment the bird's color. Good suggestion by Kerry regarding the OOF FG at bottom.