Whimbrel with Godwits

Gallery: AvianPosted April 14, 2011463 views28 comments

This is a shot from last spring on the Washington coast. There were a few Whimbrels with this large flock of godwits. I focused on the whimbrel but used a small aperture to try to also get more godwits in focus. I also tried using a larger aperture (smaller F-stop) but the birds and background didn't line up as well as in this shot. It's cropped to about 85% of FF.

MkIII 500F4 1.4x 1/125 F22, iso 400, Av mode, Evaluative metering at 0, Gitzo 1500 tripod.

Comments

28 comments

Comment posted by Charlie VanTassel on April 14, 2011 at 7:31 PM

Very cool, Nate. Reminds me of and Escher drawing.

So how'd you get them to all face the same way??

Registered on October 18, 2006, 644 Posts, 4801 Comments

Comment posted by Rick Cloran on April 14, 2011 at 8:40 PM

Sweet

Love the pattern. Its amazing how the eye bar and the slight added height let him stand out from "the crowd" so well.

Registered on April 6, 2004, 119 Posts, 1989 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on April 14, 2011 at 8:43 PM

What a great group of birds, excellent comp and depth of field presented. Too bad that whimbrel isn't facing the other direction

Perhaps next time. Sweet Photo Nate!!!

Ken Archer

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 14, 2011 at 9:03 PM

LOL! Great!
Where's Waldo?
Nice DOF.

Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on April 14, 2011 at 9:03 PM

Hey, I found the pope in the pizza! I love this shot Nate. Sharon

Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Balke on April 14, 2011 at 9:15 PM

So many catchlights, Nate! Such a crowd! In particular I like that there are so many of the individuals in sharp focus so we can pick out individuals while the image still suggests so much crowding.

Registered on June 18, 2009, 229 Posts, 2915 Comments

Comment posted by Keith A Anderson on April 14, 2011 at 9:31 PM

Whoa, very very cool image, Nate. A "Where's Waldo" type shot with lots of detail and lots of pattern. I've never seen such a dense flock of either species in South Dakota, but I'd sure love to.

Registered on February 13, 2006, 166 Posts, 1818 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on April 14, 2011 at 9:49 PM

wow--very cool shot, Nate. love how the whimbrel stands out and where you placed it in the frame. I like your dof choice here.

Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on April 15, 2011 at 12:07 AM

Neat image. I've never seen so many godwits at once.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1031 Posts, 12705 Comments

Comment posted by KC Choo on April 15, 2011 at 12:45 AM

Such a nice photo, Nate! Love it!

Registered on November 15, 2004, 519 Posts, 8278 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on April 15, 2011 at 7:52 AM

My first thought was the same as Sandy's...Where's Waldo? Great shot Nate and good choice on your settings.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by richard remington on April 15, 2011 at 9:20 AM

Nate,

Great group shot. My attention was immediately drawn to the Whimbrel which stands out among the others. That must have been a huge flock of Godwits!

Rick

Registered on March 12, 2010, 105 Posts, 368 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on April 15, 2011 at 9:40 AM

Amazing image, Nate. I really like your dof choice and how my eyes are drawn by the Whimbrel. Very well done.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Ashley Vincent on April 15, 2011 at 9:45 AM

Wow! What an amazing shot Nate, I love the way you've managed to cover the entire canvas and, of course, how you managed to make the Whimbrel stand so well out of the crowd :^)

Only ever had one opportunity to shoot a Whimbrel last time I was in Borneo, but the only thing that was completely surrounded by was leaves, which is not quiet the same thing - LOL ;^p

Registered on March 1, 2011, 154 Posts, 2083 Comments

Comment posted by dan elster on April 15, 2011 at 10:55 AM

What a site this must have been...One of your coolest images Nate..and that's saying something. The whimbrel makes a good image great .

Registered on September 23, 2005, 299 Posts, 2443 Comments

Comment posted by Guy Runco on April 15, 2011 at 11:59 AM

Really cool shot Nate - the whimbrel stands out just enough among the godwits, great catch light as well.

Registered on September 9, 2008, 77 Posts, 705 Comments

Comment posted by Wayne Willison on April 15, 2011 at 12:01 PM

Nate, getting the amount of dof needed for this group with the 500 and tc is a tall order. But what an image as is. I'd hang it. The textures and lines really make this work.

Registered on April 10, 2009, 292 Posts, 3967 Comments

Comment posted by David Haynes on April 15, 2011 at 12:54 PM

Nate,
What a cool image. Whimbrel is tack sharp and really stands out. I love where you placed him in the image as well. Great composition. Very good of you to have seen this. Most would not. Terrific capture!

Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on April 15, 2011 at 2:03 PM

Very well thought out and crafted, Nate. Excellent use of dof. This would look great on a big print

Registered on April 19, 2008, 115 Posts, 1921 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on April 15, 2011 at 3:30 PM

Wow, Nate! That's stupendous being able to get so many of these in such concentration. Might have wished for more DOF, but obviously you were at the limit. Good stuff!

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Phillip Tomkinson on April 15, 2011 at 3:54 PM

Hi Nate a supper image very nice.

Phil.

Registered on July 14, 2005, 194 Posts, 427 Comments

Comment posted by Bryan Hix on April 16, 2011 at 11:02 AM

Very cool Nate! The Whimbrel really stands out from the crowd. I would almost be tempted to do more of a pano crop of the lower section as another version as well.

Registered on June 13, 2008, 117 Posts, 755 Comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on April 16, 2011 at 11:06 AM

Thanks for your nice comments everyone!

Bryan, thanks, I think that would work very well too.

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Canuel on April 16, 2011 at 4:23 PM

Neat shot Nate. I like the patterns and the little splash of soft color provided by the bills.

Registered on September 12, 2010, 53 Posts, 660 Comments

Comment posted by Andrius Pašukonis on April 17, 2011 at 12:48 AM

I love it! Whimbrel looks a little bit perplexed by this crowd

Registered on July 23, 2005, 111 Posts, 408 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on April 29, 2011 at 9:56 PM

Nate: I'm certainly no birder but I think this is brilliantly conceived and executed. 2 thumbs up. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Roberts on April 30, 2011 at 9:20 PM

It's amazing how well the odd head stands out. Great job with composition and technicals. Very effective photo.

Registered on March 9, 2011, 69 Posts, 501 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 4, 2011 at 8:02 PM

Awesome Nate..You win the "Grand Prize" for the most birds in a single frame, hands down!

Love this one

Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments