The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Hard to choose a favorite shorbird, but finding a Black Oystercatcher within telephoto range is always a happy moment. This one gave me plenty of shooting opportunity, hunting among the mussels and barnacles.
Specific Feedback
The eye of the Oystercatcher – red with an orange rim – isn’t large, but it stands out from a considerable distance and makes a perfect complement to the bright red bill and pink legs. The eye also gives the bird a somewhat clownlike expression we see in other birds, like the Acorn Woodpecker. This beautiful creature would be far less striking without those eyes.
Some exposure problems here – jet black bird and sunlit rocks. Legs are probably overexposed as well. Should I have enhanced the feathers to show more detail?
James: A tough exposure problem for sure but I think you carried it off well. I’m not familiar with this bird but if it is black you could probably decrease the exposure a half stop or so and still have detail in the feathers and more detail on the legs. The eye is certainly an attention getter and that looks spot on. >=))>
The eyes on these birds are definite attention-getters, James, as well as the beaks and those weird toenails. I agree with Bill that you could drop the exposure on this quite a bit. There’s a tendency to try to pull lots of detail out of the plumage of black birds by raising the exposure, but it sacrifices the true black look of the plumage. My personal preference is to let the deepest shadows go all the way black to keep the nice rich black look of birds like this. With the really bright legs on this species, it helps there as well. It doesn’t look like you have any blown highlights, so it should be easy to adjust this image down a bit.
Thanks Bill. Makes all the difference if the bird is in shadow – pretty good feather detail in sun. When these Oystercatchers forage in rough water, it all works better as the dark water and wet rocks simplify the exposure. No harm in heading back to that area to try again!
Appreciate this Dennis. Good point about black birds – if you define and brighten them during edit, they don’t look like themselves. Might try shooting these guys in early morning before the sun is over the ridge. A good sensor would pull out the different blacks, no doubt.
