Loon Portrait With 2 Day Old Baby

[Grady Weed]

Canon EOS-1D Mark II N, Shooting Date/Time 7/18/2008 05:07:27, Shutter Speed 1/640Sec. Av(Aperture Value) F8.0, Evaluative metering, Exposure Compensation -1, ISO 400, Lens: EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM, Focal Length: 300.0 mm. Hand held from Kayak in the early moring light.

I went out early this morning just after 6 am. When I arrived at the pond, the mist was still rising off the water and the sun had not yet begun to illuminate the pond. I could hear the loons of in the distance calling to each other. It was looking up to be a great morning. I pushed off and headed over to the nest area, which I knew to be empty as I had spied it out last night and watched the new born chick swimming around just hours old.

As I approached the nest area, I saw a great Blue Heron to my left. It was lit up by the golden light of the new morning. It was stalking a fish. As it speared it’s catch, it flew up to perch on a log to eat its breakfast. Just then the loons let out a cry. So I paddled closer.

As I approached one loon it appeared to have one shoulder higher than the other. I realized the baby was under the wing still sleeping. I almost dropped the camera taking that frame. It was a first time for me to see this. I witnessed the baby crawling out from under the wing, stretch, wake up, dad land, catch a fish and feed the new born. I took quite few frames and get some great keepers.

If I never were to see a loon family again, I would be satisfied with this morning’s events. I plan on going out again the next 3 morning’s to try and capture the waking up part and feeding the baby some more.

Cropped for a 9x12 and nearly full frame here. All encouraging comments are welcomed and kind suggestions appreciated.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[Todd Frost]

Much nicer light to be working with. I might take just a little off the top. It must have been great watching this beginning of a new life. Congrats on a very nice image you should be proud of.
Todd

[Jeff Nadler]

wishin it were mine. Lovely

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great to see that the loon bred successfully despite all the traffic there. Was there only one egg? Exposure, angle and details look good. I would crop a bit off the top and add a bit on the right. Have fun with these guys.

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Gorgeous image Grady with an awesome composition and lighting. Great to see the parent and baby with the same pose too.. Love the water color and your exposure is spot on. Look forward to seeing your future posts and many thanks for the background info.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

All I would do is crop the brownish reflection from the top. Perfect otherwise = comp, exposure BG. So adorable! Thanks. :)

[Harold Davis]

awesome story grady to go along with a phenomenal photo!! thanks for sharing!! cant wait to see what else you got and good luck the next three days!!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Grady. Glad to hear that the egg hatched. Sounds like you had an awesome morning with the birds. The light is wonderful, the birds are sharp, and the parent looks pretty relaxed. Good luck the next 3 days!

[carole wiley]

It has all been said. I love the way the little one seems to have the same pose as the adult. A chip off the old block. Congratulations Grady.

[Grace Scalzo]

Fine, fine image, Grady. Love your story behind it, and looking forward to more. Again, your passion for your subjects and for your photography is an inspiration.

[Doug Brown]

I like this one much better Grady, both because of the framing and also because of the chick. Sharpness is excellent as is the water BG. Agree with Axel about the crop. Thanks for posting!

[Grady Weed]

I toyed with the crop mentioned by Axel. I had a long talk today with a good friend about how to improve my work. He mentioned how to crop the presented post for web presentation, for printing and a host of other things.

My past few posts have presented a few image that were not quite up to par. I tried to make something out of my "in the heat of the hot day and high sun trip" to check on the momma loon. Life is a learning experience and a bumpy road at times. This photography thing has has been a blast. And I would not have missed a minute of it. I hope to have the coroner pry my camera from my hands when they go to bury me one day! Not today however! LOL.

I am getting up early to go once more to the pond and see the loon family. A good friend is coming up to go out with me. We will see what the morning holds. The loon to me is a very special bird. When I am out on the pond, the quite solitude, peaceful surroundings, it's haunting cry, there just is not anything like it. I feel so blessed to have chronicled this chicks first few days on this earth. Cute or how sweet just does not cut it. It is AWESOME!

Thanks fellow BPNers for your kind words, encouraging e-mails yesterday and your constructive comments and critiques. there is no other web site like this one. And a huge thanks to James Shadle, my very dear friend and close amigo! I appreciate all of you here. Your new loon page rocks Jeff Nadler! Keep them coming.