Incoming Atlantic Puffin

[Norm Dulak]

D7200 w/Nikon 200-500mm @ 320mm
ISO 500; f/7.1, 1/4000 sec.; Matrix Metering -0.33

Taken at Machias Seal Island.

All C&C are as always welcome.

[Isaac Grant]

Very nice incoming pose. I like the blue sky with some clouds as they make for a great background. Feet sticking out are nice as well.

However I think the sky is over saturated and detracts from the bird. I would lower the saturation quite a bit. Looks like the sun was high when you took this photo and you don't have an ideal sun angle which creates some shadows on the bird that is creating some noise on the underside. Also I don't feel the bird is as sharp as it could be.

Looking forward to some more from that place. Did you get the Tropicbird?

[Robert Kimbrell]

Hey Norm you have a lot to like here. A great subject nicely placed in the frame, Nice incoming pose, and great clouds in the sky. I also find the sky over saturated, and see a few cloning artifacts in the back ground.

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks Isaac and Robert for your comments. I agree that the sky saturation should be reduced. No cloning was done, however I do see a couple of circular background elements that I can't account for. I'll follow your suggestions for improvement.

[Adhika Lie]

This bird is just so funny when it flies. I feel the processing is a little bit to garish & HDR-ish to me and I also see some dust bunny. That's probably the circular BG element that you mentioned.

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks everyone for your comments!