Bill Me

[Rachel Hollander]

I certainly have a lot of shots for this month's theme :S3:. Taken on Machias Seal Island. Billing or the rapid slapping of beaks is part of the puffin courtship ritual.

Canon 7D
70-200 II @ 88mm
1/640
f16
ISO 400
EC -.67
HH from blind, ff, curves, levels, selective dodging and burning, sharpened in CS5.

C&C welcome and appreciated. Thanks,

Rachel

[Melissa Groo]

What a sweet portrait of these two, Rachel. I like your comp, nice job on the framing, as I see this is FF. I find the light on the right puffin a bit harsh, contrasty, might try to recover a bit more on the whites of the breast there, and maybe also lighten the shadow on the breast as well, so it lessens the effect of the contrast. Nice job on this courting pair. You really got a lot of wonderful images from your time on Machias, I've been enjoying them.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Very nice exposure and composition. Very nice interaction captured. TFS, looking forward to more.

[Marina Scarr]

You have lovely details in your whites and blacks here, Rachel. I esp like the lichen on the rocks behind the birds and the face-to-face pose is precious.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Rachel, a tender moment captured nicely, and in this, you have brought out their colours and detail very well. You have certainly nailed the exposure on the blacks of the puffin on the left. I like the central placement, and if anything, I would maybe take a bit off the top.:w3

[Grace Scalzo]

Rachael, I just love the sense of place that this image has. Lovely habitat and of course the behavior is sweet. You did well with the exposure also.

[PhilCook]

All looks great to me, what a pair of characters, and they always look so depressed lol

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks all, I appreciate the comments and suggestions very much.

[christopher galeski]

nice image,love the pose,good detail.

[John Ippolito]

Excellent capture, Rachel. Great detail in the feathers - especially the puffin on the left. A smidge off the top makes this even stronger... maybe. Nice work.

[Rachel Hollander]

Thanks Christopher and John