Mike Cohen
April 2026 - Roseate Blur
Original
About the Image(s)
The Roseate Spoonbills were repeatedly coming toward me to gather nesting material which gave me the opportunity to play with slow shutter speeds. I experimented from 1/30th to 1/80th of a second getting, as usual with blurs, mostly ‘unpleasing blurs’. When I saw this one I saw rare relatively sharp beak and thought I could make something of it. I did a significant crop and titled the image to my taste. I brought out a little more detail on the head and eyes using NIK Color Effex. I adjusted the color of the background toward blue to give some contrast to the pink bird. Sony a1ii, 400mm lens, f/4.5, 1/80 second, ISO 640.
7 comments posted
I like this image a lot. The high key treatment and pastel pink suggest gentle Spring; the blur suggests frantic flapping of the wings, and the expression in the birds face, revealed by its sharp focus, suggests panic. The contrast draws me in and compels me to fantasize. Posted: 04/04/2026 17:55:11
Mike, I like the sharpness and crispness of the head of the roseate. I feel there is a little too much blur to the image and wing area - just me being more of the purist in nature. I also notice a purple/magenta tint on the top edge of the wings that I believe is from processing as it does not show in the original. Close to the underside of the body in the wing area the same color is present. Posted: 04/10/2026 21:21:21
Now that you mention it I see it too. Thanks Tom Posted: 04/11/2026 00:46:27
That spoonbill, flying directly at me with her mouth open, made me laugh out loud. She is definitely peeved! Great timing on this image. I don't mind the darkish tones surrounding the wings that Tom mentioned, for me, it adds to the feeling of movement. Love it. Posted: 04/11/2026 18:02:08
This makes me smile. I am always amazed by how a bird as gawky as the Roseatte Spoonbill can be so beautiful and interesting. For me there is just not enough in focus. I think the f/4.5 rendered the depth of field too shallow - I would prefer the whole head to be sharp...but that is an artistic choice and others may see it differently. The only editing suggestion I have is to correct that white area between the toes on the foot to the left. Posted: 04/12/2026 13:54:07
This is certainly an unusual presentation of the spoonbill but isn't it fun to think outside of the box. I think your crop works well in putting the focus on the center of the bird as to me the look on his face is comical and the highlight. I don't think keeping the whole bird in the image would have had the same impact. I'm not sure if the purple area around the wings is artifact or just the blur of the wings with the slow shutter speed. An image that make the viewer smile. Posted: 04/14/2026 18:48:06
To me this is a whimsical abstract destined for a wall. Love the angle you have created with the crop and the soft palette of colours blends really well. Wouldn't change a thing on this. Posted: 04/17/2026 16:49:52