White-rumped Sandpiper in the rain

I have been looking for this bird for a while to take some pictures for my good friend who is a highly respected ornithologist in Mexico and France, Manuel Grosselet. I found these guys and to take this photo I got on my belly in the middle of a salt pond, put my knees and elbows down to the uneven hard bottom surface to balance my camera with the 500mm lens. It started raining, but I stayed in place and the birds came all the way to my minimum focusing distance. I cut up my body and I was hurting for a few days, but I think it was worth the effort. Let me know what you think.

1DMKIII
500mm
ISO 1600
F:8
1/500
Handheld (that ended up in muscle cramp)

I almost forgot to say...flash with Beamer

very nice Lorant,nice BG,nice FG,some nice detail,like the rain drops on the bird.thanks.

The overall appearance of the image is very smooth, maybe a stong NR?
it lacks some fine details on the bill and feathers. I'm saying that only because I realy love that image,
and I appreciate the effort you put in to it.
BG, eye contact, color, the leg and walking toward you are great.

I like the angle, walking pose, angle and composition. If it were mine, I might remove that horizontal bright patch underneath the tail.

Gal Shon said:

The overall appearance of the image is very smooth, maybe a stong NR?
it lacks some fine details on the bill and feathers. I'm saying that only because I realy love that image,
and I appreciate the effort you put in to it.
BG, eye contact, color, the leg and walking toward you are great.

Click to expand...

Do you think it is the ACR of the new CS5? I am trying it out now. I didn't se any other NR on the image.

Thank you for commenting.

Lorant

Hi brother
I can see details in the plumage etc. Looks more than fine to me indeed. Love the foot almost out of the water; the pose and image design overall. You are on a total insane roll with your waterbird images lately. I am much impressed! Thanks for sharing.