Am. oystercatcher

Gallery: AvianPosted May 12, 2011111 views16 comments

Although the snail kites still beckon, I have started working on a new species for me; American oystercatchers. This image is from the past weekend. This is full frame. Early morning light. I wish the wings were sharp instead of motion blurred (some DOF blurr to probably). I had hoped my SS setting would be enough to spot the wings, but at this very close distance it was not enough. However, for me the tack sharp head, eye, body, and feet make up for the wings. I also like the water BG. Please view the larger version for max details and thanks for looking and commenting.

Canon 1DM4
500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC
ISO 1000
1/2000s
f/8
Manual exp.
Hand held from my boat
Full frame, no crop

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on May 12, 2011 at 8:43 AM

I suspect its more dof blur Ron. If this full frame then you'd really struggle to get all the bird in focus. I love it - the eye just glows

cheers
Rob

Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments

Comment posted by Terry Sohl on May 12, 2011 at 9:20 AM

Beautiful. The blur on the wings is fine for me, given it's a flight shot, and you did a terrific job with the exposure. Love that crystal clear eye too.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 513 Posts, 6889 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on May 12, 2011 at 9:49 AM

Very nice with excellent sharpness.

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on May 12, 2011 at 10:02 AM

Really good to get FF - well done!

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

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on May 12, 2011 at 10:18 AM

Oystercatchers are such a great species, Ron, I'm glad you're going after them. While I agree with you that sharper wings would be even better, the great sharpness of the body and head is great, wing position is very good, and full frame too--not a bad start!

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

Comment posted by S Govindarajan on May 12, 2011 at 1:04 PM

Very sharp image of another beautiful bird, Ron. The larger version really shines. The eye grabbed my attention immediately. Great techs and a good dof. Hope to see more of this species.

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

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 12, 2011 at 3:59 PM

Ron,
the eye makes the shot for me. Beautiful image.

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

Comment posted by May Haga on May 12, 2011 at 6:31 PM

Excellent flight shot Ron. Nice to catch him coming towards you.
May

Registered on February 22, 2007, 714 Posts, 8470 Comments

Comment posted by David Sparks on May 12, 2011 at 7:31 PM

Ron:
Full frame is impressive for oystercatcher in flight. I think the eye and beak would still pop off the screen if you reduced the brightness of the highlights just a tad. But I'm beginning to suspect that something went wrong with the last calibration of my monitor. Another vote for dof blur because of the sharpness of the remainder of the bird, including the toes.

Registered on May 26, 2007, 290 Posts, 4270 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on May 12, 2011 at 9:50 PM

Excellent flight shot, Ron. Very good detail and exposure.

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Howard Cheek on May 13, 2011 at 7:07 AM

Nice & sharp where it must be Ron, man that eye/beak combo is striking!
Stands out on well on the neutral gray BG, good directional light..
And lighting is everything

Well done

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

Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on May 13, 2011 at 10:29 AM

I wouldn't change a thing on this one! I like the wing blur. Sharon

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

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on May 13, 2011 at 11:26 AM

Just love that glowing eye !
Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Eric Diller on May 14, 2011 at 7:17 PM

Nice score Ron!!

Registered on October 2, 2009, 69 Posts, 434 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on May 15, 2011 at 8:05 PM

You and your FF flight shots Ron - it's extremely rare that I ever get one. The sharpness here is impressive as is your composition for full frame in flight. I prefer this background color to that of an even blue sky. This looks very good, especially in the larger version.

Registered on March 30, 2007, 437 Posts, 10915 Comments

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on May 15, 2011 at 10:59 PM

Excellent, especially that red/yellow/black eye.

Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments