Long-tailed Widowbird

[Stu Bowie]

A little while back, I posted an image of a Red-collared Widowbird. These guys have even longer tails. Whilst this is probably the best flight pose you can get, Im still aiming to get this against a grassland BG. Taken early morning in the reserve close to my house.

Canon 1D Mark IV
100-400 @ 400mm
1/2500
F/7.1
ISO 800

Manual exposure
Hand held from the car.


<iframe width="468" height="60" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://mer54715.datafeedfile.com/widget/aff_widget_prdt_generate-2.0.php?aff_num=10536&aff_net=1&widget_num=2444"><p>Sorry your browser does not support iFrame</p></iframe>

[Greg Oakley]

Wow, what a cracking bird, Stuart! Blacks handled nicely and super pose...
Is it related to the weavers?
Cheers Greg

[PhilCook]

An impossible looking bird...just amazing that it can fly at all......and it lives close to your home...envious to say the least. Ticks all my check boxes and a blue sky backdrop as well

[Robert Holguin]

Wow!!!!! That is a pretty long tail.
I can imagine how difficult it can be to fit the whole bird in the frame.
Excellent comp, great pose, and nice details in the blacks.
Very well done.

[supreet.sahoo]

Near your home !!!! You are one lucky man Stuart. This one is straight out of a fairy tale, and the bg works perfectly for me. The only question that I would ask my self : "How would a vertical look on this compared to the slightly squarish compo that you have now". Fantastic overall shot and glad that you shared this with us. Thanks.

[Tony Whitehead]

Great catch of the male displaying, Stu. Good job to get detail in the blacks and the sky. I especially like how his head profile shows up against the red epaulet as it would get lost against the black of the far wing.

[Nick Palmieri]

That is one cool looking bird. Very nice capture. TFS

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Stuart,

When I saw this image as a thumbnail, I didn't know what was what. Glad I opened it.

You have some great timing and it shows in this image. Great exposure for the blacks as well. I look forward to one with greenery as the bg!

Miguel

[Uri First]

wow this is an interesting image

[Jonathan Ashton]

Soon as I saw this I thought this is the one he's been waiting for, and it was really worth waiting for. The timing is super and the detail excellent, the light really has been with you, more importantly you were ready and so was the camera.. I am sure you thought about it but what about a portrait as opposed to the almost square format. I appreciate the shape of the pose makes it difficult but I do have some slight reservation over all the empty space on the right,....... having said that I don't think composition is one of my strong points!

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

What a compositional challenge with that amazing tail! Great pose, like the wind blown tail,foot showing, and Tony made a critical point about the head against the epaulet.

I would certainly try a vertical, that diagonals of the tail and wings would work well.

Big congrats.

Cheers

Randy

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a stack for the feedback and kind words everyone. To be honest, my initial processed image was a vertical, so here it is. It was touch and go which one to post. :w3

[Randy Stout]

Stuart:

The vertical def. works for me! By the way, the subtle clouds are nice.

Cheers

Randy

[vishaljadhav]

I like the second version more , fantastic image
the bird looks wonderful, capturing it in mid air enhance the bird a lot
nice one overall

[supreet.sahoo]

Glad I made the suggestion Stuart, this one is amazing and works perfectly for me.

[Sidharth Kodikal]

What a shot, Stu! The blacks are rich and filled with details. You couldn't ask for a better pose! Even though it's a sky bg, the clouds add interest and the bird stands out so well against that blue.
Excellent work. I bet you were pleased to see this on the back of you camera?

[gail bisson]

Hi Stuart,
I really like the vertical.The blacks look great and I like the wispy white clouds as well.
Great techs and IQ as well.
I can't wait to see your trophy shot- the one against a varied BG!! Soon I am sure.
Gail

[dankearl]

The Vertical is awesome.
Forget the mammals in Africa, I want to go there to see these guys fly!
What is the purpose of the Tail, if any?

[Jonathan Ashton]

Stu, the vertical is a peach of a shot love it!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

wicked! vertical works better for web presentation. agree with Randy about the clouds. Good you got the red behind the head...otherwise, head might have got lost. great pose and sharpness. Rich deep blacks as well.

[Satish Ranadive]

Stuart Sir:
This is fabulous image of beautiful bird with such long tail and you have captured it so nicely.I like the vertical composition.
Love the exposure and details in blacks and red on shoulder,lights and flight pose with full wing stretch.Nice catch light too.
Why is he name as widowbird?

Regards,
Satish.

[David Salem]

Very nice shot Stuart. Awesome bird with a perfect pose. Techs look great and the blacks are defined well. Like the vertical much better. If it didnt have the long tail it would look like our red wing black bird. Very well captured.

[Stu Bowie]

Thank you all so much for the feedback and comments. Always appreciated.