{"id":4857,"date":"2012-04-22T05:14:36","date_gmt":"2012-04-22T11:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4857"},"modified":"2025-07-08T13:41:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T18:41:06","slug":"black-bellied-plover-composition-is-a-matter-of-personal-taste","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/22\/black-bellied-plover-composition-is-a-matter-of-personal-taste\/","title":{"rendered":"Black-bellied Plover – Composition is a Matter of Personal Taste"},"content":{"rendered":"

One photo of a Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola<\/em>), two different compositions:<\/p>\n

\"Black-belliedNonbreeding Black-bellied Plover on one leg (horizontal) – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.<\/p>\n

When I photographed the resting Black-bellied Plover in the frame above it was on the edge of a tidal lagoon at Fort De Soto’s north beach with evening light falling softly on the shorebird.<\/p>\n

For this version I cropped a little off of the left side of the frame to make the bird closest to that edge because the plover was looking towards the right side of the frame and used a horizontal format.<\/p>\n

I wanted to leave as much of the water as possible in this composition because I love the contrast of the cool blues of the water and the light, warm tones of the sand and the bird’s plumage.<\/p>\n

\"NonbreedingNonbreeding Black-bellied Plover on one leg (vertical) – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/750, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the same image but I cropped it vertically and tighter around the subject. I like both compositions and find them equally appealing but\u00a0other people they may prefer one over the other because of their own personal tastes.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Black-bellied Plover photos plus facts and information about this species<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As much as I like to compose images that are full frame I find that I often allow myself a touch of extra space around my subject so I can recompose in post processing by making different crops.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87,25,704,2000],"tags":[4021,4367,14752,4368,173,4036,4246,5841,275,4162,274,4140,16568,4161,3996,373],"class_list":["post-4857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-bellied-plovers","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-pinellas-county-florida","tag-bird-photography","tag-black-bellied-plover","tag-coastal-island","tag-composition","tag-gulf-coast","tag-low-angle","tag-nonbreeding-plumage","tag-plover","tag-plovers","tag-pluvialis-squatarola","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-tidal-lagoon","tag-tidal-mudflat","tag-tidal-pool","tag-water","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-horizontal-mia-mcpherson-0858.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1gl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":50990,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/02\/15\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-in-a-tidal-lagoon-on-the-gulf-coast\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":0},"title":"Black-bellied Plover Bathing In A Tidal Lagoon On The Gulf Coast","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"After taking the quick bath in the tidal lagoon the Black-bellied Plover flew off towards the shoreline of the lagoon to shake and fluff its feathers until they were dry.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Bathing Black-bellied Plover, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-bathing-mia-mcpherson-6852.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10051,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/01\/black-bellied-plover-on-a-tidal-mudflat\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":1},"title":"Black-bellied Plover On A Tidal Mudflat","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I love the light and the mudflat setting I photographed this Black-bellied Plover in on a warm April morning in Florida several years ago.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover on a tidal mudflat in Florida, Fort De Soto County Park in Pinellas County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-3138.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19256,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/02\/01\/a-few-quiet-moments-with-a-black-bellied-plover-at-low-tide\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":2},"title":"A Few Quiet Moments With A Black-bellied Plover At Low Tide","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Shorebirds. They were what sparked my passion for bird photography. They were what drew me back to the Gulf Coast of Florida as much as I could be there.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover at low tide in the mudflats, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mudflats-mia-mcpherson-1101.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1106,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/10\/16\/shorebirds-of-fort-desoto-the-plovers\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":3},"title":"Shorebirds of Fort DeSoto – The Plovers","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Throughout the year you can see and photograph many different species of Plovers on Fort De Soto\u2019s beaches, tidal lagoons and spartina marshes.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-bellied Plovers"","block_context":{"text":"Black-bellied Plovers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/black-bellied-plovers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Semipalmated Plover in early morning light, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/semipalmated-plover-mia-mcpherson-fort-desoto-5817.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1504,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2010\/11\/30\/black-bellied-plover\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":4},"title":"Black-bellied Plover","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"I love watching Black-bellied Plovers hunting. They take a few steps, stop, look and listen, then do it all over again.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-bellied Plovers"","block_context":{"text":"Black-bellied Plovers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/shorebirds\/black-bellied-plovers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-bellied Plover on the hunt on exposed mudflats at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/black-bellied-plover-mia-mcpherson-florida-3124.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6127,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/09\/17\/black-bellied-plovers-in-breeding-and-nonbreeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":4857,"position":5},"title":"Black-bellied Plovers in Breeding and Nonbreeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 17, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Black-bellied Plovers in breeding and nonbreeding plumage can look like two different plover species but they aren't.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fluffy Black-bellied Plover in breeding plumage on the beach at Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Florida","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-bellied-plover-breeding-mia-mcpherson-4095.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-bellied-plover-breeding-mia-mcpherson-4095.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-bellied-plover-breeding-mia-mcpherson-4095.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/black-bellied-plover-breeding-mia-mcpherson-4095.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4857"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4857\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}