Western Sandpiper

Description:

Went down to the water district ponds looking for a Snowy Plover, and whatever else I could turn up. The Snowy is considered a uncommon species and on the decline out here. Did see it but no good images. The Western Sandpipers were active and accommodating. I liked the calm dark water in this shot. Processed in Lightroom and some content aware in Photoshop to remove an annoying reflection in the upper right corner. Cropped more the 50%.

Nikon D7100, f8 @1/1250, ISO-800, Nikkor Lens 200-500 @500 mm

2 Likes

Beautiful, calming image. I love the water ripples and the reflection!

Beautiful and simple! I like the circular pond ripples, but the lighting is what really makes this appealing to me.

Hi Stephen
The Sandpiper is lovely and the framing, water ripples, eye contact and best of all lighting are great.
Peter

A lovely reflection image, Stephen. Excellent detail in the Sandpiper and the water is gorgeous.

@Vanessa_Hill @Dennis_Plank @Mark_Muller @peter …Thanks for your comments , they are always much appreciated. And you know, I posted the wrong version of the image. I re-posted with the Photoshop content aware edits for the upper right corner annoying highlights and took down highlights on the glistening beak. I think they do make a subtle difference in the final viewing. The second image was the intended post.

2 Likes

Not that I noticed before but now with the 2nd image to compare, what you did to it makes it look really nice!

@Vanessa_Hill Thanks for taking a second look, Vanessa.

1 Like

The final touches in your editing really made a significant difference, Stephen. Well done.

@Dennis_Plank Thanks for the 2nd look Dennis, some small items can make a nice difference.

Terrific light and a nice overall atmosphere. Although I would have like the first image as presented, I would go for the 2nd one after having seen it. Well done ! Cheers, Hans

@Hans_Overduin , Thanks for taking a look and your comment, Hans.