Posturing

I love the posturing of the male Sandwich Terns. Are the merging beaks a big problem? And the line of surf?

Comments and suggestions appreciated.

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Cheryl

Canon 30D, Canon 100-400L, f/9, 1/1000, ISO 200, EV-.7

great pose and light, cheryl. i like the interaction between the two.

one thing i try to do when shooting with birds on the beach is hammer down and take several frames to have different ones to choose from in regards to the waves. i think it would have been better if the main wave hadnt cut through the heads.

you got some really nice detail in these guys. nice job!!

Hi Cheryl, IMO Harold's comments really covered it. I also echo...nice job on this!

Nice image. I would suggest you consider cropping the right border slightly however. This is like a strong center vertical image, where the subject would have equal open space on either side.

I see two potential crops here. The white line represents equal space behind each bird, as they are facing and touching, neither becomes the main subject. Therefore I would center them based on the open space.

<OThat said, I have another possible crop to offer. Center the point on which the bills touch. That is represented by the black crop line on the right.

Hi Cheryl, For me, the merging beaks are less of a problem than the surf. Perhaps at f/5.6 it would have been less noticeable than at f/9. It looks like you were pretty low; were you laying on the sand? If not, that could have helped as well. Some carefull PP could help with de-emphasizing the surf line, I think.
I really like the pose; it reminds me of two boxers circling each other. I like it very much - nice image!

Harold nailed the critique ..... taking many is big time important !! You can't control the waves !!!

Crop wise I don't like taking from the right, it gives a squarish look to the image, just personal taste. Wouldn't mind having a little more on the left side and taking some from the top to stretch it out a bit more.

btw this was not taken flat on the ground but its really nice !!! bg/fg is good and like the reflection !!! ... beaks wise would rather not have the overlap !!!

Pretty sweet Cheryl. Techs mentioned but I would be pretty happy if this were mine. Exposure looks terrific, and the birds almost look like mirror images.

Love the birds - waves do distract - Harold nailed it - really have to keep a eye on your BG when at the beach - changes in the blink of a eye.
Keep them coming

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. I'll go back to LR and see if I have any with the surf in a different spot

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Cheryl

Hi Lady Cheryl,
I like the composition and capture...your have very good details and a good color rendition...agree with Doctor Davis on the wave going through the heads...looking forward to your next one...

Hi. I think you were rightly concerned on the merge of bills, and the merge with the water line has been covered as well. I think image detail and lighting was very good. One more thing, not that it maters, but these are royal terns. Sandwich terns have black bills with yellow tips, and are a bit smaller. regards~Bill