Hand Holding the Naked 300 II

[Arthur Morris]

This image was created on the last afternoon of the Fort DeSoto IPT at 7:26pm. I used the hand held Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/732108-USA/Canon_4411B002_EF_300mm_f_2_8L_IS.html/BI/6633/KBID/7226/kw/CA30028LIS2/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xCA30028LIS2) and the Canon EOS-1D X (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/827036-REG/Canon_5253B002_EOS_1D_X_Digital_SLR.html/BI/6633/KBID/7226/kw/CAE1DX/DFF/d10-v2-t1-xCAE1DX). ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop off the light blue water: 1/3200 sec. at f/2.8 in Manual Av mode. AWB.

One sensor to the right of the central Sensor/AI Servo-Surround/Rear Focus AF on the base of the bird’s left wing was active at the moment of exposure. Click here (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2013/10/31/if-this-doesnt-get-the-point-across-nothing-will/) to see the latest version of the Rear Focus Tutorial. Click on the image to see a larger version.

Many of you will be interested in reading the Wednesday morning blog post "The Amazing Canon 300mm F/2.8L IS USM Lens/Part I of a Series: The Prime Lens Alone" by clicking here (http://www.birdsasart-blog.com/2014/05/14/the-amazing-canon-300mm-f2-8l-is-usm-lenspart-i-of-a-series-the-prime-lens-alone/). You will find lots of solid info, 2 other images made with the same gear, and, as is usual, learn a bit about exposure.

As for the image, don't be shy; all comments are welcome.

[christopher galeski]

like the pose,nice detail in the feather's,look's like he or she is happy to see you.

[vishaljadhav]

Lovely image, pose is amazing.
I like the exposure on the underwings which is the key that catches my eye.
the 300 is a super lens for sure

[Satish Ranadive]

Arthur Sir,
Gorgeous image in wonderful lights. Great pose with full wing spread, beautiful colors, nice water ripples,flash at feet and beautiful composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Karl Egressy]

Great nicely lit bird showing a beautiful full stretch wing position.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Artie, tack, tack sharp, and the feather detail shows up so well. Love the wing display, together with the movement of the feet 'kicking' up the bubbles.

[Ivan Sjögren]

Beautiful shot! Loving the wing stretch and the details in the feathers. Also like the green area in the TLC which adds a bit of interest

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all. I agree on the green Ivan.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Poor naked lens, you could at least wrap it in some Lenscoat! Kidding aside, nice image...looks like the heron is in for a warm welcoming hug. Nice wingspread, and I agree the strip of green at top adds to the image. I almost get the impression the image could use a bit of CW rotation, but could be an illusion. I like the concentric circle in the water...what caused it?

[Arthur Morris]

Poor naked lens, you could at least wrap it in some Lenscoat! Kidding aside, nice image...looks like the heron is in for a warm welcoming hug. Nice wingspread, and I agree the strip of green at top adds to the image. I almost get the impression the image could use a bit of CW rotation, but could be an illusion. I like the concentric circle in the water...what caused it?

I rotated it 1 degree CW even though going by the concentric ripples showed close to 2 degrees. When I did that it looked plain stupid.

As for those ripples, they were from the wadded up piece of Wonder bread that I tossed to the Laughing Gulls. You can guess what happened next....

You are very obsevant. If I told you now that they were caused by a fish that the heron was after would you believe me ? :)

[Andre Pretorius]

Hi Arthur

Darn piece of bread/Fish, as long as it adds to image….

Love the underwing detail.

On my Mac it the bird looks a bit bright, but by dropping exp you might lose detail?

Just my 2c.

Andre

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks Artie. Yes, I would have believed that. I thought it was created by the heron's bill having just been there but was not sure by the lack of more water drops. I can imagine the gull invasion you got after that bread toss:S3:

[Robert Kimbrell]

A beautiful wing spread with good lighting. Great body position, I hope I can my hands on 300 2.8 one day.

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Arthur

Darn piece of bread/Fish, as long as it adds to image….

Love the underwing detail.

On my Mac it the bird looks a bit bright, but by dropping exp you might lose detail?

Just my 2c.

Andre

Thanks Andre. I think that there are and always will be some brightness/gamma issues between the two platforms.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Artie. Yes, I would have believed that. I thought it was created by the heron's bill having just been there but was not sure by the lack of more water drops. I can imagine the gull invasion you got after that bread toss:S3:

I should have gone with the fish story! The funny thing is that Laughing Gull numbers seem to be well down and more amazingly I saw a grand total of one Royal Tern on the beach in three full days. There are usually dozens of them at this season....

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very lovely image Arthur!
Nice to see the bird coming to hug your naked lens! ha ha ha
Really nice exposure and details. If mine though, I would increase contrast a tad.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks JC. I can understand wanting to darken the image or the midtones a bit (I tried that but did not like it) but the last thing I would want to do is to increase the contrast; that would make the already bright WHITEs on the face too bright...

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Thanks JC. I can understand wanting to darken the image or the midtones a bit (I tried that but did not like it) but the last thing I would want to do is to increase the contrast; that would make the already bright WHITEs on the face too bright...
I see your point and it makes lots of sense!

[arash_hazeghi]

what I like about this image is the underwings that are lit so well. pose is great

[Binu John]

Fabulous shot! Brilliant timing! The wing spread couldn't get any better than this! The underwings are well lit with no shadows!