Double-take

The same trip as the Dunlin I posted a few days ago. The four Western Sandpipers were cooperative, but I did not obtain a single shot with a catchlight in the eye. There must be some adaptation in shore bird eyes; perhaps to prevent glare problems from reflected light?

What technical feedback would you like if any?

Anything. Nothing but some minor adjustments and a crop on this one.

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

Anything.

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

(If backgrounds have been removed, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
7DII, Sigma 150-600 C @ 600 mm, hand held lying on the beach, f/8, 1/2500, iso 640, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 15.1 MP. Taken at 9:54 am in a sun break under partly cloudy skies on May 15th.

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Interesting take, Dennis. You’ve got good exposure, and the cropped comp works well with the scene. Many folks may not understand it, but catchlight on almost all shorebirds is rare without light directly behind, so nothing to beat yourself up about, and it likely is an adaptation. Considering lying on the beach, I’m guessing you were up in the dry sand?

Wow… Talk about circumstances calling for critical focus! Very well done, and more interesting for the “echo” behind the foreground dunlin.

Superb light, detail, point of view, and depth of field. I like the out of focus sand ripples and diagonals.

Dennis, I’ve been at long beach for a few days and there have been lots of shore birds bulking up for the trip north. Unfortunately, the weather has not been very cooperative. I also know how difficult it is to get good pic with catchlight. Pretty frustrating.
I really like the focus in this photo. It is spot on. But best for me is the inclusion of the bird in background.

Hello, Dennis, another nice Dunlin shot ! Love the matching colors of bird and surroundings! The other image is still my favorite, but this one is very appealing as well ! Cheers, Hans

Lovely light and excellent detail Dennis. I like the partial mirror effect of the back bird-nice behavioral image.

Chuck