Recently, I have had a couple of instances that caused me to look back at my images based on a specific species of bird. One was a need for an image of a Short-billed Dowitcher for the ODF&W website. The other was a request for an image of a Black Oystercatcher as a print. Each of these requests resulted in going back through numerous images.
At times, it seems like it is pointless to keep shooting images of a bird when I already have lots of images of them. In the case of the Dowitcher, I found that I have 186 images of Short-billed Dowitcher. While that seems extreme, each has it’s own reason for being in my files.
Ultimately, the natural variety of the different birds, in different settings, engaging in different behaviors makes each new image unique. Some are more “specimen” in nature and others more “artistic.” The end use will determine what is selected. In the case of the ODF&W, a specimen image was necessary and I was able to narrow the selection down to just a few.
Having considerable depth of images can create on of the biggest challenges in photography. Not every image will be printed. If submitting to a call or to a contest, one must make a decision as to which is “best.” It is a real challenge.
The opening image was the final selection by ODF&W for their shorebirds webpage. The selection of a Black Oystercatcher for my private client, well, that one is ongoing.
By way of example, the gallery below contains a portion of my Black Oystercatcher images. Can you pick out a favorite?
Very good article post. Really thank you! Fantastic. Ofella Wyn Mildrid
Hi there mates, pleasant article and nice urging commented at this place, I am actually enjoying by these. Joletta Marlin Bergeron
Happy to hear you enjoyed the images.
All the pictures are amazing. Picking just 1 would be very hard to do
A big part of choosing is what/who I am choosing for. That said, I find myself drawn to the 31st image. The bird is probably the smallest in frame of any of the images but the wave and the energy of the bird running really seems to tell a story. 🙂