Sharp swan turn over ice

[Randy Stout]

Went out to check for migrants moving through our area this AM. A little surprised to see the lake still completely iced in, and no visitors, just the usual suspects. But, since I did have a small rig along, did take a picture or two :S3:

D4 500 AFS f/4 @ f/5.6 1/2500s ISO 800 hand held

Post: 15% crop for comp. Selective sharpening and localized contrast tweaking to help separate the bird from ice.

Advice and comments always appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[vishaljadhav]

i love the incoming pose of the swan, the action is very nicely captured here
Getting the exposures on the whites is always challenging and here you had the bird and the bg both in whites, this is amazingly done, simply love the frame, open beak adds a lot to the image
I would love this framed on a large canvas. Simply beautiful

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, seems like this fellow was happy to see you. Great wing display, open beak, and you have exposed this very well. I do like how the far wing is blending into the surrounding ice BG, and if anything, I would crop away the thin dark stripe on top.

[arash_hazeghi]

superb dynamic pose, excellent details and a great BG. Very few swan photos have a dynamic pose like this. well done

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the open beak, eye contact, exposure, composition and feet in the ready to run position. Well done Randy!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Very nice capture Randy, the action adds a lot to the image and I like how you were able to separate the white bird from the BG. I do think that the ice looks a little too blue (as do the shadows on the bird), so I would try a slight WB adjustment. You do run the risk of losing that good separation between the bird and the BG though.

[Daniel Cadieux]

I love the pose, and especially the wings and the feather detail. I like white-on-white, this one no exception. I agree ridding the very top-most darker band either by crop or clone.

[Randy Stout]

Thanks everyone for your input. Much appreciated.

I will clean up the dark band. Thought it kept the background from fading into the the page background.

Jerry - there is some blue evident for sure, from the blue sky peeping through the clouds. I had already warmed the bird a bit, and on my calibrated monitor at home, it looked about right, but on my work monitor, which isn't as good, def. shows a bit more blue.

Cheers

Randy



Cheers

Randy

[Jan Wegener]

spectacular image Randy. I LOVE it