Semipalmated Plover

Lovely little guy....very nice detail, complete with the droplet of water. I'm really enjoying the shorebirds!!

Hi Bruce,

nice shot!

A slight crop on the top and perhaps a bit more detail in the black feathers would improve this beatiful capture.

Very nice!

It looks like it could use some CW rotation even if the bird really was standing on a slope.

Nice shot Bruce,

I agree with Manuel and Robert.

Bruce,
Great shot! Not a single thing I can find to nitpick.

Bruce,

The low angle is great! Very nice!

Nice capture Bruce.

Bruce, a lovely shot. I like the head turn and the low angle. Curves does wonders for this image, really making it pop.

Great to have you posting here, Bruce.

Bruce,
Cool shot.. I like the subdued light. The bird looks like you just woke him up!
M

Bruce -

Nice, soft light. I like the drop of mud on its bill.
The composition is good, but I might consider placing the bird a tiny bit higher in the frame next time.

- Paul

I like it, but I'd be curious to see a repost with the changes from the previous comments.

Bruce,

Nice low angle and great background. Well done.

Just a tad dark on my monitor, curves and a rotation will fix this one. Glad to see you've found this place. Look forward to your posts.

I agree a little higher in the frame would be nice, but this is still a really good shot. Shorebirds are so cool. This one looks very willing to have its photo taken.

Can't wait to visit Stone Harbor soon!

Love the darker, rich colors; would only suggest a slight Curves adjustment as has been already noted. If you want to try it and could use some help, let us know.

My only comment is that I wish this was mine. Fine work. I really need to get out to the beaches more often.

Hi Bruce---by your permission, a curves adjustment was done to your semi-palm which was intended to lighten and brighten the image a bit. I did not crop but did a little more sharpening on the feather edges since that was already there in the photo. This is used for illustration only. To do this yourself, go to Image>Adjust>Curves. Anchor a center point; just move the cursor to the intersection of the center lines and click. That is a starting place. Move the anchor straight up just a few points while watching the image. That will smoothly provide a little lightening of the lighter tones. To put a little edge of lightness on the very lightest feathers, you can click on the image where you feel that should be, and the curve will show you where those tones fall. You may then anchor and selectively lighten (or go the opposite way to darken) by moving the anchor up or down. It's important to not go too far as unnatural shifts will occur in the basic colors, and repeated messing will produce banding in the smooth tone backgrounds of some images. The color was balanced only slightly here in the midtones to give it the warmth of the early morning light. That can be done by Image>Adjust>Curves. Click the midtone (middle) eyedropper on the right, set the RGB boxes to 128-128-128, click OK, move your cursor onto the image BG (the most neutral, medium gray part), click and you will see the slightly perceptible but warmer color change. Hope this gives you an idea. The image is excellent to start with, and that is what really helps in the digital darkroom.