Black Oystercatcher

Gallery: AvianPosted March 11, 201073 views7 comments

A small flock of Black Oystercatchers flew onto some rocks right in front of me at Bodega Bay, CA. Even though the eye contact isn't perfect, and there is an out of focus bird in the background, I liked this shot because he has a mollusk in his chisel beak. They pry them off the rocks and you can see some of them on the rocks in this shot.

Thanks for looking and for your comments and suggestions.

Canon 50D, 300mm f/4 IS w/1.4 handheld, 1/1000 @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Dan Moore on March 12, 2010 at 7:11 AM

He has his morsal and is dealing with the rough terrain with his feet.I like the way the eyes and beak stand out.

Dan

Registered on February 11, 2010, 143 Posts, 1248 Comments

Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on March 12, 2010 at 8:15 AM

Hans, I like this image overall. The subject bird is sharp and I love the shell in its beak. The inclusion of the great rocky habitat is a plus. The only small nit for me is the bird in the BG. The fact that it is cut off and the dark feathers are blocked up is a bit of a distraction to me.

Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Ditch on March 12, 2010 at 10:44 AM

I agree with Ron B's comments.

There's also an issue with the blacks in this this - the contrast is rather low and I suspect you've manipulated the primary subject with dodging or shadow/highlight to lighten it up. Whatever is going on here it just doesn't look natural to me.

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

Comment posted by Craig Strand on March 12, 2010 at 2:02 PM

Great job Hans, I love the comp and your subjects pose.

Registered on March 30, 2008, 416 Posts, 2885 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Saunders on March 12, 2010 at 3:31 PM

Nicely exposed shot Hans, and I like the inclusion of the meal

Registered on February 6, 2008, 321 Posts, 3035 Comments

Comment posted by Rob Drummond on March 12, 2010 at 8:02 PM

Nice one Hans. can't comment on the blacks as I'm unfamiliar with the bird but you've certainly got some nice detail there. Really like the limpet in the bill

cheers
Rob

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

Comment posted by Ron Dudley on March 13, 2010 at 8:39 PM

Hans, I like the shell in the beak, the foot-up pose, that eye and the setting. The fact that the foreground bird is so well exposed and the background bird is dark, in the same light, just doesn't seem natural to me though. From the feet they both seem like oystercatchers...

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