American Oystercatcher pair


Posted by Bruce Sherman on Fri Aug 29, 2003 8:58 pm

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Oystercatchers are among my very favorite birds. I caught this pair on the beach at Padre Island in Corpus Christi, TX. Taken with camera/lens mounted on a groundplate. The white in the BG is the foam from waves breaking.

The focus point was half on the top of the foreground bird's neck and half on the background bird's breast.

1D with 600 and 1.4 X TC, AV metering - 2/3 (f11, 1/800, ISO 200).

The distal half of the background bird's bill was covered with sand. I "fixed" it in PS. Don't know how successful I was.

Thanks for looking.

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by Sandy Mossberg on Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:02 pm
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An excellent shot, Bruce. The juxtaposition of one bird on the other is not bothersome primarily because the heads are so distinct. The low angle and BG are great.
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by Bruce DiVaccaro on Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:21 pm
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Bruce,

Very nice shot. An aperature of f11 was a good choice to get both birds sharp. I like the low angle. I believe the front bird is a juvenile and the rear bird is the parent?
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by LHays on Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:26 pm
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Bruce
You did a nice job with this one. Good choice using f/11. I'd say you did ok removing the sand from the beak....I wouldn't have even looked that close if you hadn't said anything.
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by Robert Royse on Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:45 pm
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Nice shot! I really like everything about this one.
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by Alan Murphy on Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:08 pm
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Very different Bruce, great work.
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by Jim Probst on Fri Aug 29, 2003 10:47 pm
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Bruce,

The composition is nicely balanced! I like it a lot! Great work!
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by Brian K. on Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:03 pm
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Beautiful shot! I really like this. Very well balanced and the exposure is right on.
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by KK Hui on Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:41 pm
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Fantastic shot, Bruce! :lol:
I just love the extreme low shooting angle here. Look at those feet!!!! They show so well only at this angle ...
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by Wayne Ellis on Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:24 am
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Bruce, Beautifully photographed, it comes together extremely well.
Comments and reposts welcome

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by Jim Neiger on Sat Aug 30, 2003 8:09 am
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Excellant shot! I like the low angle and the BG.
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by Matthew Whitley on Sat Aug 30, 2003 8:37 am
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Very nice! I like the gray and blue mixture with these birds... cool shot.
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by Paul Fusco on Sat Aug 30, 2003 8:40 am
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Bruce -

Nice DOF and BG. The birds behavior is interesting, and the shot has a nice feel to it.

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by Rich S on Sat Aug 30, 2003 9:33 am
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Normally, we work hard to avoid getting overlap but here you've made the overlap work for you. Nicely done. And you've handled a tough exposure situation well maintaining detail in most of the whites and blacks.

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by Jim Neely on Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:00 pm
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Another one very well done, Bruce.

The fixed beak looks good on my monitor.

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by Bob Ettinger on Sat Aug 30, 2003 2:13 pm
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Bruce,

I agree with the others, well done.
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by Heather Forcier on Sat Aug 30, 2003 5:16 pm
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Bruce, what a fantastic catch with these two birds together. Well done!
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by Chris Fagyal on Sat Aug 30, 2003 6:30 pm
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This is very nicely done. You were able to get a nice composition out of the two birds that takes some pretty good timing. I like it alot.
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by Juli Wilcox on Sun Aug 31, 2003 12:38 pm
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Outstanding, Bruce! I'm jealous. Shouldn't you be doing lesson plans or something other than shooting? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Would only do a tiny contrast adjustment to make a greater difference between the darkest black tones and the lightest white. A mid-tones adjustment might have the same effect.
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by Anthony Medici on Mon Sep 01, 2003 7:13 pm
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Shooting with breakers in the back ground can be hit or miss. Some people don't mind, others don't like it. I like the positioning of the birds in the frame so this time I don't mind at all. :)
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