Taken from a skiff out of Wachapreague wharf on Virginia's Eastern Shore last week. Cloned out parts of several OOF Willets and a Godwit. Mudflats don't make for the loveliest BG, but the few times I've been lucky to see this species, that seems to be where they hang out. They always look to me as if they were created by Dr. Seuss. C&C appreciated.
D7000 | 500f4 + 1.4 | ISO 1250 | 1/1600s @ f/5.6 | +0.7 EV
This is one superb image showing really a long bill. Do you have any naming relation with this chap ? (just kidding)
I loved the overal all fell of an image and though its the same tone bg but you really did well on separation ..
I am really surprise at 1600 ISO the d7000 produced really shiny result i wont expect from d300s or even d700 (as having all of them and tried on interior shots for my professional work ).
Bill, I like the angle and the nice sharp details. good pose and one heck of a cloning job. Subject size and placement are both very good. Agree with you that the BG is less than ideal.
At least if the mudflats were actually flat then the BG would be nicely thrown OOF! Still, you did best you could here. Nice pose, good details. There may be the illusion of needing ever so slight CCW rotation, and I would crop a very small amount at bottom...just enough to rid the slim colour band below the feet at bottom edge (or you can try fill that in via cloning if you are worried about the virtual foot).
Bill, I'm crazy about this one. I chased one all over Fort De Soto last April, and never got a shot without a dozen skimmers in the BG. And on this one, I love the fluffed feathers and soft coloration. The IQ is great. Have you thought of making a BW of it? With apologies, here's a rough go at it (not the greatest mask, I know). Makes the BG a little more ambiguous, especially if you cloned out the shadows under the belly.
Kaustubh: It was indeed a bit of cloning challenge, especially the Godwit that overlapped the subject. The trickiest part was remembering to clone out the reflections of the deleted birds.
Daniel: That line is the reflection of the belly of the bird. I should have cropped just above it, and will go back and remove it from the master file. Thanks.
Ron: Interesting idea. It does make the BG less distracting relative to the bird. But one thing I liked about the image was the warm buffy coloration of the lower feathers. I might go back and play with the BG when I get time - desat some?, reduce contrast?, blur? Thanks for the creative idea.
Bill, your experience and ability to create fine images far exceeds mine, and I do love the color of the OP. I'm just fond of B&W, so if this were mine (I wish) I would try it out and put them on the wall side-by-side for a while. My family would choose the color every time. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful pic.
Long-billed Curlew
(just kidding)
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