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Thread: Least Sandpiper

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    Default Least Sandpiper

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    Nikon D3s, 600 f/4 @ f/9, TC 1.4, 1/1600, ISO 1000, tripod and WH-200
    50% crop

    This is more about the idea than this actual photo, as I want to move closer and remove the 1.4 and extension tubes to get full frame shots.
    I do lose some clarity when using the 1.4 TC.
    Was planned for today, but a oncoming tropical storm/hurricane has changed the plan.

    The foreground is a vertical drop off for the water. Camera placed at the same level as the drop off or slightly lower.
    Since this is not the normal angle one sees of shorebirds, I'm wondering how this works. Especially since I can setup and be slightly lower than the bird if wanted.
    Last edited by Arthur Morris; 08-21-2011 at 06:24 PM.

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    Fred,

    The angle is perfect! So keep trying to get more like this. I use my 1.4x (and 1.7x) with a D3s and 500mm lens without any problem as long as I don't need a really fast focus and have at least f8 for the 1.4 and f11 for the 1.7. These little birds move a lot and it is hard to keep the focus point on the face.

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    Definitely an ultra-low angle shot, Fred. If not specified, one would have to assume that you were swimming with the shore birds... The angle works for me. Any lower and you might lose the foreground perspective, however would love to see an example.

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    Excellent low angle, I actually would love to shoot this low sometimes.
    I think DOF could be a problem when you get the birds close to you on a full frame camera.
    I'd keep the TC attached since it will increase the DOF for the same framing.

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    As stated above excellent low angle! Sharp and well exposed. Maybe just a bit tight in the frame for my tastes.

    Gary.

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    Very nice perspective with the razor thin DOF, all techs look great.

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    Fred, Please explain what you mean here:

    "The foreground is a vertical drop off for the water. Camera placed at the same level as the drop off or slightly lower."

    I am confused by what you wrote.....
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Fred, Please explain what you mean here:

    "The foreground is a vertical drop off for the water. Camera placed at the same level as the drop off or slightly lower."

    I am confused by what you wrote.....
    Artie, think of this as a stairway only difference is the size of the steps and the riser height. The bird is on a step, at the outer edge, camera is placed down the stairway, either level with the step the bird is on or slightly below. Water is flowing over the step then makes a vertical fall down the riser to the next step.
    Therefore the foreground becomes basically a waterfall over the algae covered riser.

    I hope this explains it well enough.

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    It probably does but not to me; I still have no clue as to what you are talking about :). It looks as if the bird is in a flat place with at least some water on the surface. Is the bird NOT on a flat surface????
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    It probably does but not to me; I still have no clue as to what you are talking about :). It looks as if the bird is in a flat place with at least some water on the surface. Is the bird NOT on a flat surface????
    Well the bird is on a flat surface, but the photo was taken from below that flat surface.
    The only part of the flat surface you can see in the photo is the black line across the photo where the legs enter the water. Everything from black line downward is water falling over an edge, the slight reflection is from the fact water does not make an exact 90 turn when flowing over a drop off. Everything above the black line is water falling vertically over an edge in back of the bird. The flat where the bird is standing is not in the photo, except for the black line.

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    What edges are the water flowing over? Please explain the situation....
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    Artie, the way I understand it, there was a small waterfall in front of the bird and Fred was shooting in front of it and slightly below the water level.
    What you see in the front of the bird is part of this waterfall.

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    And another waterfall behind it?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    What edges are the water flowing over? Please explain the situation....
    Outflow from a dam,and quick simple drawing to show you. The brown spot is the bird. Not to scale at all, for that I'd need to fire up the AutoCad system.
    Some of these steps are concrete where the majority of the water goes. Other areas are natural rock and small amounts of flow, the natural rock is where I set up at.
    I say natural, but I imagine the hand of man has blasted to level the steps, so I should add that to any description and never really thought about the rocks being non-natural until now.

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    Thanks. I understand it now :). Be careful on the **** dam :) Now on to the image. I do like your choice of perspective. The image looks a bit dark overall. But the biggest problem is that the bird's head is turned away from the line of its body.

    The bird is a very worn adult. Is the photo recent? If not, what month? If you head back to this spot, it would be great if you took a wide angle shot of the dam steps so that we could see the location.
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    Thanks to everyone for your comments, I guess my idea of getting this low works.
    Looking in the catalog I do have a few shots of shooting up at the bird, and they really don't seem to work.
    I'll post one, if I can locate or take a decent shot.


    Quote Originally Posted by Arthur Morris View Post
    Thanks. I understand it now :). Be careful on the **** dam :) Now on to the image. I do like your choice of perspective. The image looks a bit dark overall. But the biggest problem is that the bird's head is turned away from the line of its body.

    The bird is a very worn adult. Is the photo recent? If not, what month? If you head back to this spot, it would be great if you took a wide angle shot of the dam steps so that we could see the location.
    Ah, glad I was able to clear that up. I can certainly see your point on the head and body line, and will agree that it is overall a little dark. Even though the darkness reflects the actual conditions and I left it that way as I liked it better than the lightened version I did. Although, a happy median between the two versions I have my be the right point.

    The bird and I have something in common, we're both old and worn adults, just the bird has more cover on it's head. The photo was taken four days ago, these birds are a handful that are resident to the area and have been around for a long time. I looked for a wide angle shot, but the ones I have are from the opposite side and don't show the area I was in at the time. The area is about two minutes from home, but with the flood water right now it's not an area to enter. During flooded conditions the wide concrete steps become a raging series of waterfalls and the small rocky steps become one solid stream of water. It's a safe area under normal conditions, just slippery, but it's no place to be after/during hurricane rains.

  17. #17
    Tommy Rodgers
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    Dam, this is great! I am glad Artie asked all those questions, because I was feeling really dumb. This is thinking outside of the box raised to a superior level. There are perhaps a couple of small technical problems with the image. but you get my applause for using the manmade/natural dam to get below the bird and make great use of an unusual angle. Photographers, especially the good ones, do see the world though a different lens. Thanks for sharing.
    Last edited by Arthur Morris; 08-24-2011 at 11:11 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fred Canter View Post
    The bird and I have something in common, we're both old and worn adults, just the bird has more cover on it's head. The photo was taken four days ago, these birds are a handful that are resident to the area and have been around for a long time.
    Join the old, balding, and worn out club :). It is technically incorrect to say that they are resident birds; they are summering birds. Next year the will be breeding on the tundra.
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