I always love seeing these little fiddler crabs as I paddle alongside a bank in brackish water. Upon sensing danger they scurry into their holes, keeping their large fiddle claw visible to discourage would be invaders. This big guy was only about an inch wide, without his claw extended. Interesting note: only the males have a larger claw, the females have to make do with two smaller ones.
Specific Feedback Requested
All comments and suggestions are welcome and thanks for viewing.
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Sony RX10M4, ISO 250, f/4, 1/80, 600mm (in 35mm), handheld. In post I boosted clarity and contrast a bit. Also cloned out a distracting reed on the left.
What a cool catch. I meant to comment before, but got side tracked. While I like this overall I think it has a couple of problems - the clone stamping is obvious and creates such a distinct repeating pattern that I thought it was a tire or shoe tread. I think a little more work there can help to break that up and make it feel natural. Then there is the leaf/stalk on the right next to the crab. It looks weird, as if you tried cloning it away, but forgot to do the whole thing. You could try a 4:5 crop as well or even square to eliminate a lot of the sides that aren’t inclusive enough to show us environment. Since you’re going for a portrait here, go for it all the way! The focus looks a bit off as well, but in a boat it can be difficult to come to a complete stop and it can still move around with the water. A faster shutter speed could have helped and you probably wouldn’t have had to crank the ISO too hard. Exposure looks good and I like the white balance, too. Impressive little creature for sure.
Thank you @Kris_Smith for your helpful comments. Actually, the mud on the left did have kind of a natural repeating pattern initially, but I exacerbated it with the cloning. Reed on the right was untouched but still weird in its natural state, lol.
The evidence of cloning is obvious and can easily be fixed. Overall, the comp is very nice and I like the nearly vertical position of the crab. You could crop some off the left to enhance the crab in the frame. Well done…Jim
