Critique Style Requested: Standard
The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
An overcast day at a National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Washington When I saw this one I took a knee and shot from close by. I liked the soft foreground and background and slightly angled profile.
Foreground too smudgy?
500mm 1/2000 @f5.6, handheld ISO 500
Awww, these guys are so great. Fantastic flyers and kind of brave with their choice of nesting sites. Maybe a bit crazy in that regard. The opening in the vegetation is quite nice and I like the L shape. The eye ring shows up so well! The middle white collar looks a bit hot to me though. The closest plants are a bit goopy, but it’s expected. Terrific job being stealthy and getting this.
I don’t have any problem with the foreground, Stephen. I do like the pose a lot and I’m a big fan of half hidden critter shots. The white neck band isn’t showing any detail on my monitor. You might want to try bringing down the whites and/or highlights in the raw file in that area. It doesn’t look really blown, so I think you can pull out detail there.
Thanks @Kris_Smith, @Dennis_Plank for the input on the collar…I’ll give it another look, it does look a bit hot.
Gorgeous environmental shot, with a very nice composition! How can anyone get this close to a Killdeer?
Hi Stephen, I like this half hidden look of the killdeer with a great view of the eye and that orange ring around it. S/he seems to be checking out his environment pondering his next move. The white chest band does seem slightly blown but you make be able to eek out some more detail in the Raw as it doesn’t seem extremely hot in the large version (to me anyway). Nice catch!
Thanks for the comments and @Allen_Sparks I did mask the highlights and toned down the hot collar. Appreciate the input on that. @Diane_Miller I was indeed fortunate to get close to this one who was inspecting a near by shallow gravel bar and held its ground while we walked a way.
Hi Stephen:
Nice job getting close to the killdeer and framing it the way you have. In my experience, despite their presence close to human habitations they are quite wary. The foreground is not bothersome. There is a relatively clean break between that and where the head appears. Also agree with Dennis on the lack of details on white in the neck. Selectively bringing down the brightness in that area will enhance this image.
