Winter Phalarope

[dankearl]

At the Oregon Coast today to get new Snowy Owl photos.
While I got some of those, I had as much fun with a bunch of Red Phalaropes, way inland, in the
Dune grass swamps.
As a self critique, the whites were hot, I attempted to tone them to an acceptable level.
I have a lot of different photos, but I liked this one, hot or not, I am sure you will let me know.

1/2500, f6.3, iso800, 600mm (300w/2x), D800, Handheld.

DSC_3468bp.jpg (http://www.birdphotographers.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=121753&stc=1&d=1354763274)


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[John Cooper]

A very nice pose Dan with the wings fully raised. Subject very sharp and looks quite appealing in the yellow vegetation. The under-wing and body do appear a little bright IMO.

[Raymond Lee]

Nice wing position, great head angle, and lovely lighting. However, the whites are a bit hot in this photo.

[Shawn Zierman]

Awesome inland capture of this species. It's reminiscent of a shorebird breeding display image, though I
know it's not. I like the stark whiteness of the subject against the grasses. Definitely the hardest phalarope
species to observe inland in the lower 48 imo. Brilliant frame imo.

[Robert Holguin]

Wonderful shot.
I love the pose, excellent IQ, I really like the habitat here, and terrific comp.
The whites really dont bother me and think it's a terrific shot.
Well done.

[Don Nelson]

Excellent capture. Well done.
We've had Red Phalaropes (usually an offshore bird here in Oregon) as far inland as Portland.
So did you find the four Owls out on SJCR? Did the adult still have the blue green blood below the bill that it had earlier this week? (Some are looking for pellets from this owl to confirm what it was eating..... for those that don't know, crustacean blood is blue-green when fresh and oxidized.).

[David Salem]

Great shot and very sharp and well exposed. Barley hot on the whites and dosnt bother me either. Nice pose with the raised wings. Funny to watch these guys feed. Nice work.

[Satish Ranadive]

Wonderful image of phalarope in beautiful environment.
Love the fully stretched wings,exposure,details and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[christopher galeski]

nice capture,love the pose,and I like the golden veg.thanks.

[dankearl]

Thanks for the comments.
Don,
I only saw the young Owl and did not get very good photos as I did not want to get close.
There were some other photogs there that were chastised by the birder crowd for even thinking
about going out to get photos.
I was content to photo the Phalaropes that were in the meadow right below the parking area.
Funny, the birders did not mind me getting close to the phalaropes and they would flit around
but the Owl is off limits apparently.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Dan, well timed to capture the raised wings, sharp, and the whites dont look too bad from here. You angle of capture has worked out well, as any lower, you would have had the FG grasses against the body.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Dan, I love this!! What a great pose, and perfectly frozen and sharp. Love the habitat too. I do find the whites a bit hot as mentioned previously and I would really try to tone down the bright stem crossing the phalarope's bill. Man, every winter brings out the dreaded birder vs bird photographer confrontations (not saying this against you). Sigh.... Makes me dream of finding my own owl on some friend's or relative's private land somewhere, even though that is a very selfish thought on my part...:bugeyed:

[arash_hazeghi]

sweet pose with full wing display and nice depiction of habitat. I agree whites are a tad hot should be easy to recover

[gail bisson]

This is really nice Dan.
You are finding some great birds these days.
Love the environment but would clone out or tone down the stem that is intersecting with the beak,
Gail

[Greg Oakley]

Fantastic image Dan! Great wing position and the whites really pop out from the tan colours in the b/g. As others have mentioned, the whites should be easy to recover in Raw and another vote for cloning that stem behind the bird,
Cheers, Greg

[Tim King]

Very nice photo, Dan. I'm loving the habitat and warm light.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

I think this is a stunning image Dan. The pose is killer. The light, IQ and the environment are just lovely. I stared at this beauty for quite a while.