Dunlin & prey

The droplet of water frozen in midair is sweet as is the prey in the bill. It looks like you could use a tiny CW rotation but that's the only nit I have.

- Luke

Lia, I really like the colors of this image. The larger version shows great detail including the worm. I like the raised foot and water drops too. Nice comp with the reflection.

Perfect timing here Lia! I love the water droplet and the detail in the worm - especially in the large image.

Very nice, as usual.

I'm going to miss your Florida photos when you eventually run out f them.

Gorgeous dunlin, the worm in its bill is a great catch. We occasionally see dunlins up here into late fall/early winter, they are indeed cold hardy for a shorebird.

Cool image, Lia. Excellent behavior and nice crisp shot. The prey is a great bonus.

Sharp shot, prey is a bonus, lovely action. Those floating bubbles have my attention...neat !

Excellent Dunlin and prey Lia. The position of the highlight and the fast shutter speed at low iso suggests mid day. How do you manage to have such even exposure? My mid day photos even at this time of year with the weak rays low in the sky here in much more northerly latitudes still manage to blow the highlights. I'm perplexed...

Very nice, good detail and like the one leg up pose you've captured.

Many thanks for the comments on this image so far.

Rich, it will be awhile before I'll run out of FL shots plus I hope to go back twice a year for more FL avian photography.

Gary, this image was taken about 2 1/2 hours prior to sunset. I was facing east with the sun behind me, the light reflecting off of the water and sand nearby probably helped to produce the even exposure by lighting up the underside of the dunlin.

another well-captured moment. nice raised foot and ripples, wonderful prey item, with good exposure and comp.

Love the inclusion of the water worm, nice action Lia

Excellent stop action at 1/1000th, great details Lia,
Love what I'm seeing here
Well done

Another classic Lia shorebird image!! Glad to hear you have plenty of them for us to keep enjoying. I'd be interested to know which locations you will choose to go back & visit during your 2 trips each year.

Beautiful image, Lia. The subtle changes in color across the bird, in the background and in the reflection are very appealing. The worm gives the shot a real interest bonus and the little ripples indicate action too. One tiny detail is that the reflection of the bird is scalped. If the reflection was more clear than it would be noticeable. However, as is, it really does not significantly affect this lovely image.

Nice, Lia. The prey is really squirming around to get free. What is it?? Have you found out?

On the subject of tilt - I often use water and attending reflections to gauge how level an image is (I'm a bit picky about that with my own images). The reflectons are often a good way for me to judge tilt. And in this case the elliptical puddling of water around the bird is normally a good indication. Your image may be perceived as needing some CW rotation, but the natural level gauge of water, reflections, etc. is only applicable to still water. In your case, along coastal waters, there may have been a bit of gentle wave action coming in from behind, which blows the whole concept of leveling out of the water - so to speak.

That being said, I reckon it's up to our artistic perception of how we want to present an image. For me since the ellipse is pretty predominant in the composition, if it were mine I'd do a little CW rotation and call it a day.

I saw the comments about contrasty light, but in my experience there's a lot of "bounce light" coming from all over the surroundings, particularly from the water near the bird.

Lia, I love the squiggly worm - it almost looks like it has a tiny head bulge like a snake (though I'm sure it isn't one) and the flying water droplets are a big plus. I also like the raised foot at water level and the nice detail in the larger version. Rotation can be a challenge for me in certain instances like this but from experience I trust your judgement. And I agree with Bill that it sometimes comes down to "artistic perception". A lovely image.

An excellent exposure Lia you've certainly frozen any movement in the bird and worm. As usual detail in the bird is excellent with nice light and subtle reflections. Graham

Another beauty. The prey and droplet add interest.
May

Another fine wader shot Lia - really like the detail within the monochrome hues

cheers
Rob