From Sandy Hook, early April. C&C appreciated.
D7000 | 500f4 + 1.4 TC | ISO 320 | 1/5000s @ f/6.3 | -0.7 EV | HH (elbows in sand)
From Sandy Hook, early April. C&C appreciated.
D7000 | 500f4 + 1.4 TC | ISO 320 | 1/5000s @ f/6.3 | -0.7 EV | HH (elbows in sand)

Lovely shot, great low angle and really like the walking pose.

+1 on what Troy wrote. I would think of making it a bit lighter as this is darker than the pp I usually see around here.
Very nice!
The only thing I would do is try to bring out the eye a bit more.
![]()
Nice notes above... I really loved the pose captured here Bill..![]()
Excellent capture! Midstep is great, lovely FG & BG. A gust of wind must have lifted his feathers? I prefer the eye lightened a bit.
Superb low angle and well exposed. I like the walking pose
Chris Kotze
Thank you all. Allan, I agree it could stand to be a little brighter. The white area on the collar is pushing 250, but I could brighten the image slightly and apply a linear burn to that area. Steven, it definitely helps to bring out the eye. I did brighten it a little in the OP, but perhaps not enough out of fear that it would look unnatural. I appreciate the suggestions-- I'll go back to the master file and give them a try.
Bill, I like it as presented. In the repost I think the eye is a little too bright and doesn't fit it with the overall mood of the picture.
I like the pose and the colors look great...Lovely shooting angle and the textures in the water are great...Nice one!
Bill, excellent shot, like the low angle, the repost with the eye surgery looks good. Wonderful photo and BG is nice, too.
Bill, I like the original post. The eye in the repost looks unusually light to me. Nice low angle and I like the ripples in the sand.![]()
Beautiful image Bill! I like the raised foot, low angle and ruffled feathers.
Sweet, sharp, low action shot Bill! Love the raised foot and the ruffled feathers! I like the eye in the second post but I am not familiar with the species, so Denise is probably right, the first post is best!
Love the charging pose. Whites on neck look fine but read into the 250s. Linear Burn there followed by pulling the curve up, de-saturating the YELLOWs and lightening the iris just a tiny bit. The messed up feathers behind the bill were bad luck....
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
This is a wonderful image Bill!!! I prefer the original as the eye looks un-natural to me in the repost. Here is a repost with some boost in colours - what do you think?
Last edited by Ofer Levy; 05-25-2011 at 07:24 PM.
Thank you all for looking, and for your helpful comments. I think Artie's repost nails it -- the changes are subtle but helpful to the image. Steven's idea for brightening the eye is a good one, but perhaps a little too much. Ofer, the boosted colors really make it pop, but I don't recall the bill and legs as being that bright. I probably would have left the yellows per the OP, but Artie's is probably more realistic. Couldn't do much about the feathers behind the bill; it may not be a perfect specimen but that doesn't bother me. Thanks again for taking the time to look and comment.
nice shot Bill,like the walking or running pose,nice low angle,some nice detail in the feathers,as been said,just lighten the eye a bit.thanks.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
The eye in my repost does look unnatural. Probably should have looked at a field guide before I posted.
In the Eye Doctor section of Digital Basics we teach you to control the degree of changes that you made to both the pupil and the iris. Plus tons of other great Photoshop tips and my complete Digital Workflow. Also, lots of great Photoshop stuff on the blog. The last two days were Select Color Basics & an Advanced Tip and Linear Burn E-mail with Screen Caps.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.