The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I was really too late in the am, but went out anyway for the practice. This little bird was very cooperative and flitted about in front of me from perch to perch above the beach below giving me a clear background of the water. I struggled with the crop as I found the out of focus leaves distracting and decided to crop out as many as I could.
Technical Details
1/2000 @ f 6.3, iso 1600, Sony a7riv, 200-600mm lens
Processed in Lightroom with AI noise reduction, tonal and color adjustments.
Hi Kathryn. This is a nice sharp image of the sandpiper. I like the pose, but to my eye, the image looks just a bit over saturated and/or a bit high in contrast. I think toning it down a bit might be more effective. I also find that big log to be overpowering as a perch. It’s so big, I think you could crop something like I show below and treat it as if it were a base. I know that loses some of the reality of the situation, but I think it would give the image a better balance.
Hi Kathryn, nice catch of a tough to get bird. Great pose s/he gave with a nice look at the head and those spots. Agree with Dennis’ suggestions. Nice image.
Hello, nice capture indeed! Sandpipers flitting about like you described are hard to photograph as they move so quickly. I wonder when they exhibit this behaviour if they are distracting you from a nest. I don’t know all that you have cropped out, but it may be interesting as a behaviour/habitat shot. I quite the log as it is very realistic to their environment. I think maybe the composition is a question of whether you want a portrait (I like what Dennis has done) or portrait. Well done!
Kathryn: I like your original post as well as the cropped version. Your original post shows the bird in a very different setting from what we expect from Sandpipers. The crop emphasizes the subject to a much greater degree while still showing the perch. Nicely done! Richard
I certainly felt like its behaviour was suggesting a nest nearby. The limb was about 1 metre above the beach, so there may have been one there. I was walking a trail through the trees and it kept to the perches that were along the shore. The next day I was in a dinghy and saw two of them on the beach in that same area. I appreciate you taking the time to critique my photo and for your comments.
Thank you for your comments. I was suspicious there might have been a nest nearby as the bird stayed along the shoreline on the edge of the beach, but in the brush. There was a little cliff about 1 metre below the perch. I opted not to search for a nest as I really didn’t want to upset the bird and in fact turned around and went back down the trail the way I came.
