Peekaboo Curlew

Image Critiques Avian Critiques
1

20181214-105425DSC_1738-bewerkt
20181214-105425DSC_1738-bewerkt1200Ă—800 318 KB

Last Friday I came across this Curlew, a species normally hard to get close to. This one was searching for food, and every now and then appeared above the rocks giving me the opportunity to shoot. The morning sun was just above the dike behind me, shedding some spotlight on the bird every now and then. More to find on my blog https://www.hansoverduin.nl/curlew-peekaboo/

What technical feedback would you like if any?

What artistic feedback would you like if any?

I am still a little annoyed that during the half hour I spent it didn’t show its feet… what do you think?

Any pertinent technical details:

Nikon D850 with 500mm | 1/1250s | f4 | ISO400 | underexposed 1/3EV | from car

Thanks for viewing !
Hans

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1 Like
2

While the feet would have been nice, the spotlighting minimizes their absence, Hans. I like the head turn and the out of focus rocks are so soft that they’re not a distraction. There’s a tiny white dot below and in front of the bill and an out of focus specular highlight above the bill that are a bit distracting. A fine image.

3

Light one dreams of when you are out shooting birds in the early morning…Great head turn and that one water speck below I would keep…
I would get rid of the highlight above.

4

Wonderful light. I like the pose, the background and the feeling generated by both the out of focus background and the out of focus foreground. I would remove the spot below the beak and I would darken the highlight adjacent to the head.

5

That light is just fantastic; I love the spotlight effect. I’d also leave the water droplet, and I don’t personally mind the specular highlights. I’d probably burn down that bright-ish blue on the right edge of the frame. As far as the feet go, it would be nice to see them, but it’s not a deal breaker. I also see that the foreground rocks don’t bother others, but the out-of-focus rock between the birds’ legs just tips the scale to distracting, to me at least. I’d consider cloning down a portion of the tip that is protruding up.