Image location : Crystal Cove State Beach, Laguna Beach, California.

The Willet is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family. Piercing calls and distinctive wing markings make the otherwise subdued Willet one of North America's most conspicuous shorebirds. These long-legged, straight-billed shorebirds feed along beaches, mudflats, and rocky shores.

As a treat we went down to Crystal Cove State Beach for my Birthday and had fish and chips in the Beachcomber Cafe. I could not resist playing on the beach with the long lens on the mirrorless to see how its autofocus would perform on a small fast subject. Needless to say I was quite impressed!

This image was captured just after sunrise using a Panasonic Lumix G7 with a LUMIX G VARIO 100-300mm F/4.0-5.6 set to 300mm (equivalent to 600mm on full frame camera). I was lying on the beach with the lens supported on my elbows in the wet sand and I used autofocus on the bird. The camera was set to Aperture Priority f/8.0 giving a 1/2000th of a second exposure at ISO 200 with daylight white balance. The RAW processing and final adjustments were all done in Photoshop CC.

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