I am cleaning up old stuff in my catalog this morning and I came across this image of a long-billed curlew in Morro Bay from a few years back. I like the lighting and pose but I am not quite sure how I feel about the incoming waves in the background. What are your thoughts?
@adhikalie
I agree that the light is great and I love the pose, Adhika. Ideally, I’d like that breaking wave a bit lower in the frame, but it’s certainly not a deal breaker. There’s plenty of contrast between the wave and bill tip which is where the most conflict lies. For those uses where major alterations are considered a no-no, this is fine. If you wanted it strictly as an art piece, then covering up the breaker with some of the pattern from above with a transition to slightly lower might result in a more pleasing image.
Since I’ve yet to get one of these close enough for a really decent image, I’d certainly like to get one this good.
I agree the light is really nice on this Curlew shot. I’m really not that bothered by the wave in the background. I think one of the things you could try would be to cut either the highlights or exposure on the board itself by half stop to increase some of the saturation and contrast. The bird may pop a little better if it is a tad darker.
Pleasant image you’ve here; the wave doesn’t bother me in the least, especially since the water is not mirroring calm, so the wave basically adds to the story in my opinion. As Dennis writes, there’s no interference with the bill tip, so all good for me ! Cheers, Hans
I’m becoming more and more familiar with your style and this certainly is in that vein. The images are high toned, low contrast, with very natural colors. The result shows a bright optimistic outlook. This image makes me think of morning, the start of the day.
