Trumpeter Mayhem - Spring is def. in the air

[Randy Stout]

At the local bird sanctuary this morning, and the trumpeter swans were just being amazingly feisty, blasting off and attacking each other. As each new group landed, another round of assaults ensued. Went on for a long time!

D4 Sigma 150-600 S, 600mm, f/7.1 1/2000s ISO 500. Hand held.

Post: LR, CS6. Crop for comp, canvas added left and bottom. Selective sharpening.

I have been enjoying the flexibility of framing with the Sigma, as action was happening all over the place, and no chance to change your position to compensate for a fixed lens focal length

Advice and comments really appreciated.

Cheers

Randy

[Lorant Voros]

Nice exposure as always, Powerful action take off, nice down stroke. I'd love to see the front foot as well, but it is still nice. Pano crop works well here. TFS.

[Mike Poole]

great swan take off shot, love the curled primaries and the action around the feet. Excellent control on the whites.

Mike

[Glennie Passier]

Good action shot. I love the water colours of tan and blue. The water flying is a bonus. Good job on the canvas adding. I would not have known if you didn't mention it.

When I hand hold my Sigma, I end up with a lot of nice grass shots.

Well done!

[Ihtisham Kabir]

Well, you nailed it. Great shot. My only thought is about the black beak which does not stand out well against the two-tone (blue and black) bg. Perhaps lighten the blue behind the tip of the beak a tiny amount? (Then you would have to change the other blues nearby to make it inconspicuous.) And lighten the beak portion near the eye, again a small percent, to make it stand out against the black bg there? Your exposure is perfect. Exhilarating - TFS.

[Kirk Benson]

Love the forward stroke wing position in this one Randy, exposure is perfect, nice reflections on the water... pretty shot. :)
Impressive IQ with the Sigma S @ 600mm... very well done.

Kirk

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Randy, well timed for the take off, and mostly with the timing, you achieve great forward wing positions. Well exposed on the whites, sharp, and I like the hint of the water reflection on the inside of the far wing. Pano crop works well.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image, Randy Sir. Fantastic take off. superb exposures in whites, great details and beautiful composition.

Regards,
Satish.