Maria Small
About the Image(s)
I took this image of a White-faced Ibis and a Black-necked Stilt last November at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. I like how I captured the expression on the small bird’s face glancing at the Ibis who had its wings all spread out. The stilt seemed to be admiring the beautiful colors of the Ibis’ feathers.
Shot the image with my Sony A7III. Settings were F 6.3, 1/1000 s, ISO 640, 352 mm.
I cropped to get rid of some of the distracting background in Photoshop, then adjusted the brightness of the two birds and increased contrast, vibrance. I removed a lot of the vegetation to minimize its distracting effect on the background, blurred it and adjusted the color of th
pond to make it bluer. I find the beaks of the birds to be soft so I sharpened them. I like the moment that I captured here between these two birds, and how the Ibis has his wings spread out in all their splendor.
Will appreciate suggestions on what to do differently when shooting a moment such as thi
and PP.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
5 comments posted
You have captured a nice interaction between these two birds. I especially like the facial expression of the black-necked stilt as it glances at the ibis's display. The amount of detail is exquisite, allowing us to appreciate the beautiful iridescence of the ibis's feathers.
I agree with Richard's suggestion about cropping tighter, as it removes more of the empty space that competes with the birds' interaction, even if it means sacrificing part of the ibis's wings.   Posted: 03/12/2025 10:43:43
I think we all agree that a tighter crop is best for the image and I also like Bruce's suggestion. I also agree that the Ibis as presented is a tad dark and I would lighten the shadows of it (only), but probably not lighting it as much as Isaac has suggested. All very personal preferences, but I like to finish with a believable end result.
Lovely image.   Posted: 03/21/2025 17:48:51