Black Oystercatcher

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

Black Oystercatcher
Black Oystercatcher1200×844 263 KB

20211228-DSC_3203-Edit-Edit
20211228-DSC_3203-Edit-Edit1200×800 241 KB

There were a pair of Black Oystercatchers low on the jetty them. I tried for a perch to get eye level and…almost got there. I was able to observe them for about 15 minutes. This one was working the wet shadows on a slack tide and came away with quite a few morsels.

Specific Feedback Requested

All comments welcome. I wish I had a slightly different angle so the blurred rock in the foreground was smaller or not even there. Oh well?

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Nikon D7100, f8 @1/800, ISO 1250, Nikkor Lens 200-500 @400, handheld

2 Likes
2

Very nice, Stephen. An excellent job handling the dark plumage and neat behavior. I don’t really mind the out of focus rock on the lower left, but if you don’t object to composites, you might look at other shots from the same excursion to see if you can steal a rock from them to put over the out of focus one.

3

Really nice, Stephen. A neat bird from which you pulled excellent plumage detail. Well done.

4

Nice capture. I imagine it would be interesting to set and watch them at work. The focus on the bird looks great. I actually think the out of focus rock puts more focus on the bird. I wonder if lightengin the background rocks would help the bird stand out more. At initial glance, it was little hard to distinguish the body of the bird from the rocks. Maybe I just needed to put my glasses on :joy:

5

A very nice image with excellent detail and color. Oystercatchers are difficult to photograph because of the darkness of their plumage.

6

That second one is quite the decisive moment!! I was so busy looking at the bird that I didn’t even notice the OOF rock. It looks like you cloned down the top of the top rock in the first image – I’d do that on the second also to give a touch more breathing room on top. You could probably successfully add a bit of canvas.

7

Thanks for all the good input and feedback @Dennis_Plank @Chris_Baird @David_Schoen @terryb @Diane_Miller. Dennis, I don’t object to composites and might try your suggestion in Ps. Diane I don;'t remember cloning out that top piece of rock but I do see the difference and might go back the the original to get more room. Chris thanks for your input and yes definitely go for the glasses if it is difficult to distinguish between the rocks and the bird…they are similar in size and it was a dark day…but the bird is the one with the red blunt beak :sunglasses: