Solitary Sandpiper

Gallery: AvianPosted February 19, 201358 views7 comments

My first post to the rather intimidating Avian gallery. ;) This Solitary Sandpiper photo would be much better if the foreground didn't look so cluttered and unappealing. It was already out of focus somewhat, so I used a tiny bit of blur vignette in Nik Color Efex. Does it help or hurt? Would it benefit from cloning the ground out and adding canvas? (I try not to alter my photos that much)...

This pic was taken at a swampy waterfowl production site where the ground is often spongy with twigs, cattails and rocks all about. But, I still love this photo as it's the first time I was able to get a decent shot of a sandpiper. Comments and critiques welcome.

I don't have specific techs, but I am sure it was taken with the Canon Rebel XTi and Sigma 70-300mm, handheld while crouched on the ground. :) Smith Lake, 2010

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Buck Ward on February 19, 2013 at 5:50 PM

Hi Jess.

No complaints about the sandpiper from me. I find them unapproachable. Perhaps just the slightest head turn in your direction would have been a nice gesture on its part, but they don't take direction well.

Yes the foreground is a bit busy, but I don;t find it objectionable at all. It looks natural.

If you hadn't mentioned the blur vignette, I wouldn't see it. I do think I see a dust bunny top center. It may be an OOF spot on the water, but either way, I'd recommend cropping or cloning to remove it.

Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments

Comment posted by John Neukirch on February 19, 2013 at 6:33 PM

The FG doesn't bother me at all. The sharpness of the sandpiper looks pretty good but it's hard to tell for sure without a larger version. Pretty nice profile pose with the lifted leg.

Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments

Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on February 19, 2013 at 8:16 PM

Jess a solid picture. I wouldn't worry about the foreground over much. It looks natural. The bird looks good as far as I can tell, Although I could tell better with a large image. Buck mentioned a head turn, but you pretty much have to take what the bird gives you.

Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on February 20, 2013 at 12:57 AM

A nice first post to Avian, Jess. Welcome to the forum.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on February 20, 2013 at 11:44 AM

Hi Jess, welcome to the avian galleries! The foreground doesn't bother me at all and the water looks good too. The bird appears to be sharp, but does show a bit of a halo around it that probably came in somewhere in your processing. I don't know how many opportunities you have for shorebirds in MT, or what their behavior is like compared to coastal shorebirds, but with some patience and careful movement, some may allow very close approach--making them a nice group of subjects for while your focal length is limited.

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

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on February 20, 2013 at 5:20 PM

I like the composition, Jess, it provides context for the image. The pose is good. If I were to crop this, I think I might take just a thin slice off the bottom about even with the top of your signature as that part of the foreground is more oof than the rest. I do think I'm seeing a couple of sensor dustbunnies above the bird-one almost at the top of the image.

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

Comment posted by Jess Williams on February 20, 2013 at 6:47 PM

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Yes - I now see the dust bunnies...almost lined up like Orion's belt! I definitely have a sharpening "halo" happening here due to processing.

@Brian, we get quite a few different varieties of shorebirds in my area (33 sandpipers, plovers, avocets and stilts to be exact) and I live close to a very large lake with a nice strip of sandy beach, but I usually find sandpipers next to rivers, creeks and (in this case) in swampy areas and pot-hole ponds. They are some of my favorite birds and very hard to photograph.

Registered on February 15, 2013, 17 Posts, 53 Comments