Black Skimmer

[Joseph Przybyla]

I captured this image at Lake Mirror in Lakeland, Florida. This skimmer appeared to be mimicking the behavior of feeding gulls and terns. Instead of skimming the water surface with an open bill it would dive into the water and then struggle to get airborne again. Comments and critique welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 80-400mm F/4.5-5.6 VRII AF-S ED shot at 400mm (600mm FFE)
1/1600 F/5.6 Matrix Metering 0 EV ISO 360
Post processed in Lightroom 5 and Photoshop Elements 10
Cropped for composition

[Doug Brown]

Interesting story and a well-timed action shot. Focus looks good but fine feather detail is a bit lacking, either due to NR or wet feathers. I would prefer more light on the head, and in particular more life in the eye.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Joseph, great sighting, as you have captured unusual behaviour from a Skimmer. Good wing position, and I like the flying droplets. I agree, adding some light to the eye wont harm.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Doug and Stuart, thanks for viewing, commenting and suggesting improvements. Back to the drawing board so to say. I worked on the RAW file again, detail on the feathers and the eye. The goal is to see and recognize where improvements can be made. Thank you for your help. Here is the repost.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent re post. Eye looks beautiful. Very informative image. Fully action packed.

Regards,
Satish.

[Joseph Przybyla]

Thanks everyone for viewing, commenting and offering suggestions to improve the image, very much appreciated.