Last week I visited the German island of Helgoland, mainly for birding. We brought our cameras of course. Jack Snipes are masters in camouflage, but this one decided to cross a footpath - which gave us an unusually unobstructed view of the species, which normally is very hard to find and frame in my experience.
More here: https://www.hansoverduin.nl/bobbing-around-a-bit/
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Technical Details
Nikon Z9 with 500mm f4 | 1/1250s | f5,6 | ISO720 | overexposed 2/3EV | handheld while lying on the ground
Beautifully isolated with that single narrow line of shore and elegant background. Snipe are so cautious, so I imagine you were well concealed? Great shot, Hans.
Thanks @Allen_Brooks , @Mike_Friel and @Allen_Sparks for your comments. @Mike_Friel : I was not concealed at all. These birds have the habit of trusting fully on the camouflage, even when the surroundings (as obviously is the case here) do not match that at all. In that respect this was a very rare encounter, which I’ll most likely never have again …
Hi Hans
I really like the low angle, the Jack Snipe looks like it’s trying to get back under cover before it is discovered. The eye contact, coloring and feather detail look very sharp. Great work.
Peter
A great capture of this Snipe, Hans! The high-key look is nice, especially since you still captured all the detail and didn’t overexpose the bird. I agree with everyone else’s comments and the only thing I could suggest is to crop from the bottom into a 16x9 ration. That would lose some of the dead space on the bottom and balance the bottom band of white with the green band at the top. It would also put more emphasis on the bird.
