Least Tern

[Bill Dix]

Got up at 3:30 to get to Sandy Hook by sunrise. Squandered some of the first light searching for Least Tern chicks, with minimal success. But I did get good light on a few adult terns in flight. This one is full-frame, although I took some off the left and added a like amount of canvas to the right for comp. Levels, NR on BG and USM. C&C always appreciated.

D7000, 500f4 + 1.4, ISO 640, 1/1600s @ f/7.1, gitzo and mongoose

[Joe Senzatimore]

A tack sharp image with a very complimentary BG. Beautiful subject done justice by your skills.

[jack williamson]

Beautiful tern Bill, excellent IQ and BG.

Jack

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Sharp, perfect exposure, excellent pose with the wings all the way up and a great bg. Eye contact is just perfect too.
What an image!

PS: I see a faint clone of the bill in the bg, just in front of the bird.

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Excellent flight pose with lovely background. Amazing focusing skill with this being full frame. Just wish this is mine, TFS.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks guys. Sidharth, how did I miss that? (Time to clean my monitor.) Not even sure how it got there; I guess from cloning in the bg for the added canvas. Thanks for pointing it out. Here's a repost.

[gail bisson]

Hi Bill,
The repost is excellent. I, too, noticed the cloning mark so was glad to see the repost as I scrolled down.
Lovely whites and wing position.
Love the BG as well. Tack sharp.
Well done and a keeper for sure,
Gail

[Dumay de Boulle]

Cracking image Bill....perfect exp and sharpness.One of your best for me!

[Rachel Hollander]

Bill - great flight shot - sharpness, comp, wing position - all perfect. Nice job on the repost and the adding canvas.

TFS,
Rachel

[Neil Nourse]

Nice shot Bill.
Tack sharp, and what a background!
My wife just loves it when I tell her I am getting up at 3:00am !!!

TFS Neil

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Bill, great flight posture, tack sharp, and you have exposed the tern nicely. I would take this BG to a sky BG any day. :w3

[Melissa Groo]

Beautiful job, Bill. Gotta love that light, the background, the sharpness, the wing position. Splendid tern image.

[dankearl]

Sweet flight shot, Bill. I agree with all the raves, very nice work!

[Lorant Voros]

Awesome flight shot. IQ is great and I bet it would make a good print. Well done and congrats.

[Marina Scarr]

Killer flight pose on a tough subject to photograph in flight. What makes this one unique for me is the terrific BG.

[John Ippolito]

Sharp, great detail, nice wing position. Love the pose.

[christopher galeski]

what can I say after all those excellet comments,I agree,magic image.well done.

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent pose wing position and BG. great exposure too

[Frank Schauf]

Really nice flight shot and great details.

[Bill Dix]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I'll post a sequel later today.