When it comes to shorebirds like this Black-bellied Plover (in winter plumage), I really prefer kissing the sand. Doing this permits me to control the background and really put the isolating power of the 600mm to good use. Even so when shooting at the shoreline, you’ve got to watch the background for constant changes (and the unexpected wave!).
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6011.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6016.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
You might be looking at the two images and not seeing much difference between the two images but it’s there. The degree of white in the background and how high it comes up behind the plover is what I’m looking at. The lower image is the one I like best between the two. The motordrive had to rip to capture that nuance. While I try to see it, squeeze off the shot to make the image with one click, I still ended up squeezing off three to get the one. You’ll probably also note the horizon line had got that slight slant to it. Still playing with that idea.
Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film