Another Willet

Gallery: AvianPosted May 5, 2017172 views7 comments

And from the same location: Padre Island National Seashore. I liked this one because of the prey it found. I'm afraid I don't have a clue about shells, so I don't know what it is, but it did swallow it, albeit with a rather pained expression.

7D2, Sigma 150-600 C @ 468 mm, f/7.1, 1/2000, iso 640, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped to 8.7 MP before resizing. Taken at 8:36 AM on April 13th.

Comments and criticisms are always appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Allen Brooks on May 6, 2017 at 10:58 AM

Great pose and excellent detail. I like the composition with the sea foliage somewhat framed by the Willet.

Registered on July 27, 2011, 262 Posts, 2597 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Kellermeyer on May 6, 2017 at 12:37 PM

Very nice image. I have heard people in Florida refer to the catch as sand fleas. Love the detail and color.

Registered on March 19, 2013, 52 Posts, 161 Comments

Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on May 6, 2017 at 2:21 PM

Hi Dennis,

You have mastered the willets. The pose with water dripping off of the prey animal and algae in the BG work well here. Well done.........................Jim

Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Leggett on May 6, 2017 at 7:06 PM

Really interesting image, Dennis. The name "sand flea" is deceiving, more correct name would be mole crab, sand crab etc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerita_(genus) which I've seen here in MS on occasion. As to the image, the lifted leg pose is excellent and the catch is great. Certain conventional wisdom might suggest more direct front lighting, but I personally find side lighting better to show the modeling of the bird in the environment. In a perfect world a bit more separation between the bird and sea weed would improve it, but capture of a "perfect world" in nature is often a challenge. Nice work devil

Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments

Comment posted by Patricia Brundage on May 6, 2017 at 7:42 PM

The food, the raised foot and the addition of the seaweed make a big difference in the impact of this image. Well done!

Registered on March 23, 2006, 1111 Posts, 6531 Comments

Comment posted by Kurt Bowman on May 6, 2017 at 8:09 PM

Cool image Dennis. I like your comp and good timing with the placement of the seaweed.

Registered on June 19, 2008, 1005 Posts, 8028 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 7, 2017 at 3:00 PM

Good job on the pose, light, and detail here. The colors all work well. I particularly like the lifted foot. I do agree with Bill about more separation between the seaweed in the bird however I'm fine with it as is although the magic of Photoshop would allow you to move the seaweed pretty easily.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments