p.2 #3 · Returning Shorebirds including two local rarities
birdied wrote:
Excellent set. Love the stilt.
Birdie
Thank you. I really was happy about being able to shoot the stilt as well. That is how I spent Easter Sunday. While everyone was at dinner, I was lying in mud and goose poop shooting that bird
p.2 #4 · Returning Shorebirds including two local rarities
eyelaser wrote:
Wonderful images all!! Funny how one person's rarity is another's common species....I've been photographing stilts for the last week and have here for the last 20 years. But there are a lot of west coast birds that I never get to see on the east coast.
Eric
Thank you and I agree. That is why when I heard this bird was in a spot that could be photographed, meaning I could get close and at eye level I left immediately. Stilts are just beautiful birds and we only get them around New York City every couple of years. Typically they are in a salt marsh or quite far out and inaccessible. As with most shorebirds this bird was quite tame and 5 times walked too close for me to even focus on it. Amazingly this photo was taken in a puddle in a muddy field. Puddle must much longer east to west so I laid down on the western edge to have the best background and have the sun right at my back. When the sun hits these birds just right they really come alive.
p.2 #13 · Returning Shorebirds including two local rarities
DVJ38 wrote:
First of all, spectacular images!
To save your neck, have you tried a right angle eye piece adapter?
I have never tried that piece for a number of reasons (but not necessarily the right reasons). Here is my logic. Shorebirds even though they do not run all that quickly when they are at close range can be very difficult to track and keep centered or however I am trying to frame the shot. Not sure I would be able to do that and properly track the birds. Plus often times action happens in a split second and you need to jump up and track flight as well. Again not sure I could do that with the right angle finder. But of course I am open to hear others experience on the matter. What I use for my ground work is a ground pod and a Mongoose 3.6 head with the gimball arm because it gets me a little lower than just the side mounted lens. I have 2 heads. One that I keep on my ground pod and one that I keep on my regular tripod.
p.2 #15 · Returning Shorebirds including two local rarities
'Abouthelight' ............quite appropriate for this set
Isolation, outstanding!
The first image is remarkable, it just makes my monitor glow, I can feel the light. I love it when an exposure reaches into the depths of the blacks and brings out the often hidden colors and when the exposure retains details in the whites like this one. This is so much more than just a shot.............it is gorgeous well executed image!
The second image set against that wonderful blue just pops. The hues in the blue are calming, the pattern and contrast in the bird really work on that clean BG. It's interesting on how powerful those yellow legs are and how they try to steal the attention from the eye. There is an ever so subtle trail off of DOF on this one but that is what makes the eye the focal point, it works
The third one really catches those creamy tans contrasted by the blacks very nicely and the greens are refreshing and supportive to isolate. Lots of nice details, great image.
You have my vote, earned it in a matter of seconds, these are all top notch results of your efforts, amazing
p.2 #16 · Returning Shorebirds including two local rarities
Karl Witt wrote:
'Abouthelight' ............quite appropriate for this set
Isolation, outstanding!
The first image is remarkable, it just makes my monitor glow, I can feel the light. I love it when an exposure reaches into the depths of the blacks and brings out the often hidden colors and when the exposure retains details in the whites like this one. This is so much more than just a shot.............it is gorgeous well executed image!
The second image set against that wonderful blue just pops. The hues in the blue are calming, the pattern and contrast in the bird really work on that clean BG. It's interesting on how powerful those yellow legs are and how they try to steal the attention from the eye. There is an ever so subtle trail off of DOF on this one but that is what makes the eye the focal point, it works
The third one really catches those creamy tans contrasted by the blacks very nicely and the greens are refreshing and supportive to isolate. Lots of nice details, great image.
You have my vote, earned it in a matter of seconds, these are all top notch results of your efforts, amazing
Karl thank you so much for the detailed response. I really appreciate it. And it is all about the light. In order to get proper exposure on that Stilt you have to have perfect late evening (or early morning) light to really make those blacks and whites sing. And the bird has to be at the perfect and I mean perfect angle to get those colors just right. I have a couple hundred photos of this bird in all different poses and against a bunch of different backgrounds. All sharp and well exposed. But I only have 3 images where the bird is angled just perfectly to the sun where all of the details really come out in the blacks. So about 1 in 100 made the cut. Those little things make all of the difference. On the Upland Sandpiper where it was full overcast, the angle is not nearly as important. Thanks again for the kind words.
