The drought of this summer has lowered the level of many waters. In most cases a problem, but for these waders an opportunity. The common snipe is, inspite of it’s name, an endangered species in my region, and I don’t see them often. So this is a rare view. The low water level in the small lake brings food within reach and a couple of snipes is searching for food continuously.
They were far away, this crop is no more than approx. 4MP of the entire image, so not too much detail is visible. But I like the patterned bodies and the reflection in the water.
Specific Feedback Requested
All feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Technical Details
Pentax K5 Mk.iii, Sigma 4/100-300mm @300mm with TC2.
ISO3200, f/5.6 (f/11 effectively), 1/2000s, handheld.
RAW conversion and optical corrections in DxO PL5, little further editing in Picture Window Pro.
Hi Han
Love the sun light and framing. You have good detail on the first Snipe and the reflection add a lot to this shot.
Peter
I would cool down the white balance a bit so that water looks more blue, that way the golden ducks will pop out more and you will get more separation. Maybe lower the exposure slightly and raise the whites a little too! Nice composition here!
A nice environmental scene of the snipe’s feeding. The closer snipe show good detail and I like the overall composition.
Thanks @Peter_Morrissey , @Allen_Brooks and @Eric_Bennett for your comments!
@Eric_Bennett : funny, I had this image in the series as well. Other composition, but more in the direction of the color that you propose. I think that it is best to change the color of the water and to maintain the warm hue of the birds.
I like the composition, Han. I agree that changing the water color would help. It looks slightly like one is looking through a dirty window in the original.
This looks like a grouping of Common Snipe. The original posted image has some good depth of field and a nice look at the words in their feeding behavior.
Nice to have a group of them, in different positions. Also good to have one as the ‘star’ of the image. Also for me the cooler tones work better. Cheers, Hans
@Hans_Overduin , @David_Schoen , @Dennis_Plank : thank you all for your comments.
I have some more images in the series, and I re-edited those to change the WB to make the water more blue, while maintaining the color of the birds.
