Preening Spoonbill

[susanschermer]

It seems all spoonbills do when they're not feeding or nesting is preen. No wonder they're so beautiful. I liked the very early AM light on this young one at Fort de Soto yesterday . I was using a Nikon D300 with a 300mm lens and a 1.7 converter that belongs to a very considerate friend who allowed me its use. I normally shoot Canon and was hard-pressed to learn which dials to move. The light was very low and it required ISO 1000 to hand-hold. I tried my best to deal with the noise.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great light, pose and details. I would be tempted to remove the beige band at the top and there is a slight sharpening halo, especially around legs and bill. Thanks for sharing!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Susan,
Pose, light, and BG are all very nice.........but do agree with Axel that the upper band does detract. I did a browser crop with a scroll........and it definitely strenghtens the image. You also did very well with the noise.

[Bill Foxworthy]

Lovely Spoonbill Susan. I capture these type images all the time and you are right, this is what they do about 60% of the time. It is a definite strong capture with great color and clarity and the white's are exceptional as that is my main problem with these birds. I also usually get a shoreline band across the top so I am used to that but it won't be missed if removed. Great reflection and beautiful Spoonbill in all respects. My hat is off to you and congratulations on a fine capture. I generally don't comment that much but wanted to chime in on this one.
bf

[Cheryl Ertelt]

Lovely colors. I like this a lot as is and a bit better with the suggested crop. Thanks for sharing.

[Todd Frost]

Nice image. I agree with suggestions about band. Here is a crop you might look at to eliminate both upper and lower bands and give more room for bird to look into, putting more emphasis on the subject. See what you think. You did very well, especially with a borrowed camera!
Todd

[Arthur Morris]

Great job by Todd with the repost. Thank you sir. The only remaining problem is that the bird's head is not parallel to the imaging sensor. The requirement is #1 on the list if you wish to create superb images of preening birds.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Congratulations Susan. Beautiful capture of the spoonbill preening in lovely lighting. The color and detail are excellent. and lovely repost Todd.

[susanschermer]

Thank you all for your comments. I am learning so much from posting my images on this site. I really appreciate all of you who take the time. I like the repost a lot better.