Marbled Godwit

Gallery: AvianPosted March 1, 2010119 views14 comments

Canon 7D, 500mm f/4 + 1.4x TC. Handheld, kneeling.

1/2000, f/7.1, ISO 400

Crop to 82% (14.8 of 18MP), and added a narrow strip of canvas on the left, behind the bird.

Taken at Puerto Penasco, Mexico

I got a nice series of this godwit as it walked along. This one had the nicest pose, with the raised foot, but was quite tight behind the bird, so I added a narrow strip of canvas (about half the open space behind the bird). I do wish that there wasn't that oof piece of veg coming up in front of the bird near its rump, but think it's pretty minor given the rest of the shot. I think it's an elegant pose with nice color throughout.

My processing was what has become my standard routine now, slight levels and curves adjustments to go with sharpening applied to bird only.

Comments and critiques are appreciated. Please view larger version if possible.

Comments

14 comments

Comment posted by Luke Ormand on March 1, 2010 at 9:12 PM

Excellent lighting with the low angle - detail on the bill is just sweet. Only nit is OOF vegetation near the tail

- Luke

Registered on February 4, 2009, 1093 Posts, 7035 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on March 1, 2010 at 9:24 PM

Sweet one Brian!!! The two toned background makes it for me.

Ken Archer

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

Comment posted by KC Choo on March 1, 2010 at 10:59 PM

Love it!

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

Comment posted by Angela McCain on March 1, 2010 at 11:29 PM

Nice image. The larger version really exposes the detail in the feathers. The canvas interface in the sky might need just a tweak.

Registered on April 19, 2009, 367 Posts, 3589 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 2, 2010 at 5:33 AM

Nice detail and low perspective Brian, well done

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by David Sparks on March 2, 2010 at 9:37 AM

Brian:
I love the pose with the lifted foot and the complimentary colors of the BG.

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

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on March 2, 2010 at 1:02 PM

Nice detail here and great dof.I like his foot positioning just walkin along

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on March 2, 2010 at 3:25 PM

Brian,
I really like the pose of the bird, the low angle and the colors. Beautiful shot!

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

Comment posted by Matt Shellenberg on March 2, 2010 at 4:39 PM

Really nice detail in this Godwit, Brian. I like the pose and the background really works well.

Registered on February 6, 2008, 168 Posts, 3118 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 2, 2010 at 8:20 PM

Very nice - love the position with raised foot.

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 2, 2010 at 8:46 PM

Geez Brian, I'd have guessed you had your nose in the ground rather than just kneeling - love the perspective. Nice detail, interesting light and the raised foot pose tops it off. The OOF foreground stem isn't particularly significant IMO.

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

Comment posted by Steve Balke on March 3, 2010 at 12:06 AM

A very attractive image, Brian. I especially like the DOF you've obtained here with the foreground and background blurred to really draw our attention to the bird. Great walking pose (sort of a strut). The OOF stem is not a distraction for me. No nits.

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

Comment posted by Simon Bennett on March 3, 2010 at 4:03 AM

Lovely stepping-out pose and great low angle.

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

Comment posted by Mia McPherson on March 4, 2010 at 7:18 AM

Brian,

This is a gorgeous setting, the light is delightful and the walking pose of the godwit is wonderful. I don't mind the OOF vegetation at all.

Would love to have this image in my files, it is very appealing to me.

Registered on June 25, 2007, 491 Posts, 12566 Comments