Recently I have been traveling quite a bit (work, photography and family), but back home now. I spent some days on the German island of Helgoland, which is great spot during migration. I spent quite some time shooting the Horned Larks - more can be seen if you like on https://www.hansoverduin.nl/larks-from-hell/ .
This one is framed against the backdrop of the reddish cliffs that the island is famous for. It was on top of one of the cliffs with strong winds blowing, so the challenge was to keep the camera steady
Thanks for any comments! Cheers, Hans
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Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D500 with 500mm f4 | 1/1000s | f5 | ISO640 | overexposed 2/3EV | handheld. I cloned out some grasses to the right of the bird.
Great viewpoint - you can see the ‘horns’ - terrific. If it were mine I’d experiment with toning down the exposure and brightness of the grass around the bird. Especially in front. The detail and, dare I say it, expression on the bird’s face are too good to be overwhelmed by the surroundings. The background is pretty nice, but possibly adding some contrast in the face and breast would help it stand out even more. What a terrific little creature. The markings are so interesting.
Hi Hans
The expression on this Horned Lark is great. I think I am with Kristen on the exposure. Maybe a half stop lower could make this photo graph even better. thank you for sending us this lovely bird.
Peter
I really like the composition on this one. I have always wanted to see this bird but I don’t believe there are any in my immediate vicinity. I think lowering the exposure would affect the luminosity of the head . This presentation is very typical of your style which I like quite a bit. If I were going to do anything I might try to drop the highlights a tad which I think would accomplish what everyone else is looking for.
! Cheers, Hans